New Wind Nation: Alliance
by Kyogre
Summary: AU. Hidden Sand genin Naruto has gained a good friend in Gaara, but now he and the entire village are facing a new crisis. It's a race to convince their leader to abandon his plans of an invasion, or they just might find themselves on the brink of a new war. (Sequel to New Wind Nation.)
1. An Unlikely Ally

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance (Season 2)

**Chapter 1:** An Unlikely Ally ~ Worst Case Scenario

**Summary:** Having gained a good friend in Gaara, Naruto finds himself facing a crisis of the Kazekage's making. Now, it's a race to convince their leader to abandon his plans of an invasion, or they just might find themselves on the brink of a new war. (Sequel to New Wind Nation.)

**Notes:** Opening theme is Kaze no Hi by Ellegarden.

/~/~

"During the third round of the upcoming Chunin Exams, Gaara will act as the spearhead of an invading force against the Hidden Leaf Village," the Kazekage stated shortly.

His tone was clipped and cold enough to make Kankuro cower and Baki tense reflexively. It was only natural — the Kazekage was not a man accustomed to repeating himself, yet he had been forced to repeat his plan, and then further simplify it into the condensed, watered down version he had presented.

But even so, Naruto continued to look at him blankly and shook his head bemusedly.

"I don't understand," Naruto repeated. "We're invading Hidden Leaf? Why?! That's stupid!"

The Kazekage's glare was murderous. "Your opinion is of no value. You will obey your orders." Baki suspected that if Gaara hadn't been watching the exchange closely, subtly posed to act, Naruto would have found himself facing a swift execution, at the hands of the Kazekage himself.

"Those orders are stupid!" Naruto shot back insistently. "What are you thinking?! Invading? A war? War is the worst thing, for everyone! Nothing good can come from war!"

Naruto had never been in a war, of course. He had never even truly seen the aftermath of it, since Kushina had carefully kept their travel routes through the safer, less damaged locales. But the pointless cruelty of war was the main theme of his favorite book, Tale of the Gutsy Ninja, and on the few occasions when she could stand to mention it, Kushina had said the same.

Kushina had lost her friends, her family, her entire homeland to war. Naruto had tried to imagine it sometimes, when it had been the two of them and later, when he had been alone. Even when Hidden Sand had still been a strange, not-yet-home place, the thought of losing it had been terrifying. Now, when he thought about his home and his comrades, and what the war he had heard about would do to them, Naruto couldn't hold back his reaction and refusal.

"I agree with Naruto," Gaara said, far too calmly. His words made the Kazekage turn a sharp, angry look toward him instead.

Caught between his instinctive refusal to explain himself to a pair of genin and his need for Gaara's cooperation, the Kazekage glared at them both for a moment.

Seeing the man about to simply order them to obey him, Baki spoke up quickly. "A decisive blow at the heart of their village will severely weaken Hidden Leaf, and destroy their credibility with the potential clients who will be attending the third round of the Chunin Exams. It will show Hidden Sand's power and raise our own standing," Baki explained, repeating what the Kazekage had told the council.

The expression Naruto made correctly reflected Baki's own opinion of this course of action. However, unlike Naruto, Baki understood that the Kazekage's orders were absolute. If their leader ordered them to invade Hidden Leaf, there was nothing they could do but obey.

Protesting would simply get him swiftly and mercilessly silenced. Unfortunately, Naruto's stubborn expression made it clear he would not back down or be placated — or intimidated.

"And then what? What are we going to do when war breaks out for real? Hidden Leaf isn't just going to roll over, you know!" Naruto snapped.

"Then," the Kazekage said coldly, "Hidden Leaf will fall to Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud, who have long been looking for revenge for their prior loses."

Naruto flinched at this cold prediction of untold death and destruction, and Baki prayed he wouldn't say something that could be taken as sympathizing with their rival village. With Naruto's background, it could easily be taken as a sign of treason.

"With Hidden Leaf gone, our competition will be greatly reduced," the Kazekage continued, "we will claim their contracts for ourselves and greatly expand our influence and might."

Naruto shook his head slowly, momentarily at a loss for words. Even Kankuro, silent in the corner he had retreated too, looked stunned and faintly horrified. "You're crazy!" Naruto yelled. "You're going to start a war just to... to..."

"To conquer, as is the purpose of war," the Kazekage said.

"Because the last one went so well!" Naruto shouted, making both Baki and the Kazekage stiffen. The Third Shinobi World War was a sore point for the entire older generation, though Naruto likely did not understand the full impact of his words. "And you want everyone to go through that again?! You're going to bring our village to ruin!"

Baki winced at the heavy accusation, which seemed to resound in the shadowed chamber, but the Kazekage only looked back at Naruto emotionlessly, any expression hidden by his mask and the brim of his hat.

"This village," he said finally, "is already in ruin. I act only to save it. You have your orders."

/~/~

Baki had to all but drag Naruto out of the room. The jonin's firm glare was barely enough to keep Naruto quiet until their team was alone in one of the administrative center's remote meeting rooms.

"You can't agree with this!" Naruto protested immediately, spinning around to glare at Baki.

"What can we do? The Kazekage gave us our orders. If we disobey, it's treason — execution," Kankuro pointed out pragmatically. He didn't sound happy by any stretch of the imagination, and his expression was deeply miserable. Under his breath, he wondered, "Urgh, is this why he formed this team? To have three genin and a jonin for the exam?"

'So I'm just filling in the spot, great.' It was a depressing thought.

"Then we have to make him change his orders," Naruto decided, scowling as if the nonsense he spouted should have been obvious. "Because they're stupid, and he's wrong."

"Father doesn't change his mind," Kankuro said flatly.

"The Kazekage is not known to reconsider once he has come to a decision," Baki agreed sighing. "And understand, Naruto, this was not a decision he came to lightly. He knows far better than you what war means and the dangers and losses that come with it. But the village is in a desperate situation, far more so than you know. If something — something drastic — is not done, Hidden Sand will wither away."

It was hardly unheard of, for an entire hidden village to be disbanded or to just fade away into nothing. The same had occurred in many of the smaller countries — in the Land of Hot Water, famously, and in the Land of Birds.

'To think the same would happen to one of the five great villages...' Baki thought grimly.

"How is going into a war going to make anything better?" Naruto insisted stubbornly. "If we're in so much trouble, we're not up for a war, that's for sure! The village could get destroyed, and then what?"

That was, after all, the fate of Kushina's birthplace, the Hidden Eddy Village, and its country, the Land of Whirlpools.

"We will not be going against Hidden Leaf alone," Baki said, after a moment's pause. He was treading close to secret information, even for Gaara's team. "For this, we have allied with another village — Hidden Sound."

"Never heard of them. Is some small village really going to be much help against Hidden Leaf?" Naruto said dubiously.

'I've never heard of them either,' Kankuro thought. Compared to Naruto, he knew far more about other countries and their shinobi, so that said much more.

"This village was created only recently, but their leader…" Baki hesitated, but he could already see Naruto wouldn't be satisfied otherwise and he was stubborn enough for that to become a serious problem, especially if Gaara backed him. "Their leader is someone very powerful. Powerful enough to stand against even a Kage."

"People like that don't just appear out of nowhere," Kankuro mused aloud. "For one of them not to have a village…"

"A missing-nin," Gaara judged succinctly. Kankuro had never considered Gaara as intelligent — or, admittedly, slow either — but the thought was unsettling at best. Sharing a glance with Baki, Kankuro knew the jounin shared his feelings.

"So we're trusting someone who already betrayed their homeland to not betray us?" Naruto said.

Despite the common sense of his statement, that sort of "trust" was commonplace in the shinobi world. In actuality, there was no trust involved at all.

"That... does sound suspicious," Kankuro admitted, though he would have never said so to his father's face. "I mean, what's some small upstart village doing, picking a fight with Hidden Leaf? There's no way they have enough power to make a difference against one of the big five, not if they just started out. They're probably planning to make us do all the fighting and then claim the credit. Either that, or they're just idiots overestimating their own strength."

Neither option bode well for Hidden Sand.

Baki shook his head. "This village… is different. It's filled with people that possess abnormal powers, and their leader is… Well, he is on the level of a Kage."

'There's not that many of those,' Kankuro thought. 'Especially not if they'd go around making a village. And would be willing to risk their necks against Hidden Leaf. And not to mention gather all those minions with "abnormal powers"...'

Preoccupied with his thoughts, Kankuro mostly missed Naruto's next comment. "So the Kazekage wouldn't do this without these allies? So we only need to prove we can't rely on them, and he'll change his mind?" he asked, still working along the same single track.

His stubbornness made Baki sigh, not for the first time. "Our village's intelligence network has investigated them thoroughly. What do you think you're going to find, that the Kazekage doesn't already know?"

"We have to try! Or else…"

"We?" Baki repeated.

"You don't agree with this either, taicho!" Naruto pointed out, but seeing the jonin's expression, he huffed. "Fine then! Gaara and I will save the village!"

Gaara nodded.

Frowning, Baki responded almost reflexively, "Gaara won't be allowed to just run around somewhere, investigating Hidden Sound."

"But I can?" Naruto asked, and Baki knew he'd been played, in a very basic way.

For a moment, the jonin closed his eyes and thought. Several months with Naruto had shown him that once Naruto had an idea in his head, there was no dissuading him. Unfortunately, Naruto also tended to succeed in the end, so that tendency had never quite been broken.

Naruto decided he wanted to go on a C-rank mission? He went on C-rank missions, and a B-rank too, even if that meant a teammate who might flip out and kill him at any moment.

Naruto decided he wants Gaara to stop listening to Shukaku and killing innocent people? He convinced Gaara not to fight against Shukaku's will and the non-enemy casualty rate, which had already been steadily decreasing, had dropped completely once they returned from Land of Rivers.

Naruto decided he wanted to persuade the Kazekage to call off an intricate, desperate maneuver to invade another village? Well… Baki was afraid that if he forbid Naruto from trying to find evidence to support his position, the boy would come up with an even more insane method of achieving his goal.

Even worse than that was Gaara's apparent support of this — of Naruto. If the Kazekage ordered their team to follow through and Naruto refused, Baki had little doubt that Gaara would also refuse. And while Naruto could be imprisoned or beaten into compliance, Gaara… well, the Kazekage could subdue Gaara, yes, but not without great cost and likely not to the extent that the plan would still be workable.

Perhaps Baki did not like this plan either, but he knew there was little choice but to obey. Civil unrest was the last thing they needed. The village would collapse in on itself.

"I will get you a permit to pursue an independent investigation, even outside the village," Baki said, coming to a decision — the only decision he could make, at that point. "But you will return in time to begin the mission, and if you have not found sufficient evidence to convince the Kazekage, you will stand down and obey. Is that clear?"

Swallowing heavily, Naruto squared his shoulders and nodded. "I promise," he said.

"Gaara?" Baki prompted, turning to the redhead, who nodded in turn.

Now, all that remained was to convince the Kazekage to grant Naruto's leave of absence. Somehow, it still felt like an easier task.

/~/~

The Kazekage listened to Baki's report on his team's status silently and without giving away any opinion.

"Your team is on standby until the Chunin Exams," he said finally, without turning away from the panorama of the village seen from his office. "As long as it is not to the detriment of the village, it is of no concern to me how they choose to spend that time."

He could feel Baki's surprised, uneasy silence behind him, but, as a council member, Baki was too self-controlled to question the Kazekage's uncharacteristic lenience.

"Understood," Baki said instead. "My team will be ready in one month's time. By your leave."

He flickered out of sight.

However, the Kazekage was not alone for long. Once Baki had departed, Gaara stepped out of the shadows, though he did not approach further. The two stood in silence for several long moments, before Gaara finally spoke.

"If something happens to Naruto while he's out of the village, I will hold you responsible," Gaara declared.

The Kazekage shot him a flat glare. He hadn't planned to stoop to assassinating Naruto while he was in the field in any case, though it was unsurprising that Gaara would consider that option.

"Do you expect me to assign him a guard?" the Kazekage asked mockingly. "A weak fool like him will get himself killed quickly, especially if he plans to interfere with those far stronger than him."

Gaara didn't rise to the bait. "Hmph. Don't underestimate Naruto," he said instead. His expression softened as he half-turned away, and there was the faintest hint of a smile on his face. "When he sets out to do something, he doesn't give up until it's done. Start coming up with other plans. You'll need them."

Having said his piece, Gaara stepped back into the shadows, and the Kazekage was left to consider his words — and, more importantly, his changed demeanor. It was subtle, but Gaara's calm was different from his occasional apathy. The atmosphere around him was not the same — no longer like facing down a half-rabid beast, but a dangerous, reasoning, human opponent.

When had Gaara changed? Why?

It wasn't Baki's doing — Baki, who had changed himself. The councilor had always been cautious, so it was no surprise that he was wary of the invasion plan. But because he was so cautious, it was uncharacteristic for Baki to be so open in his disapproval.

Both of them, supporting that boy...

What was it about Naruto? What made them believe in him?

~\~\

Naruto was shuffling through his weapons, trying to decide how much of what to take. He had already packed everything else for an extended mission, but how many kunai would he need? How many shuriken? He couldn't carry his entire stock of both, that much was for sure. Sitting in the middle of his bed with his face screwed up in thought, surrounded by sharp, pointy things, Naruto made quite the picture.

That was how Kankuro found him, when he threw open the unlocked door to Naruto's apartment. "Oh, for… just put them in a storage scroll!" Kankuro barked, as he strode in without waiting to be invited.

"Oh yeah…" Naruto muttered, slapping a palm to his forehead. Then, he chuckled, "It's been so long since I made any. Not since I was traveling with Mom… I hope I still remember how to do it."

That sounded rather ominous, but Kankuro only closed his eyes for a moment and resolved to ignore it. "So you're really going to do this?" he asked instead. "Do you even know where to start? Or are you just planning to wander outside the village and hope you coincidentally run into something?"

"I was going to go to this Hidden Sound Village," Naruto said blankly. "I'm not sure what country it's in though…"

Kankuro muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath, but managed to keep from facepalming. "It's in the Land of Rice Paddies," he said. "But our shinobi would've already checked there, not to mention that you haven't got the skills to sneak into a foreign hidden village. I knew it was going to turn out like this. You're totally hopeless, you know? You're lucky I looked into it!"

"So you found something out? Nice! I guess you're not totally useless after all!" Naruto said brightly.

"Who are you calling useless?!" Kankuro protested.

"Well, it's not like you do anything on our missions," Naruto said reasonably. "Gaara and I do all the work."

"Gaara does all the work," Kankuro muttered. He sighed. "Fine, whatever. Just listen. I was thinking about what Baki told us about this village's leader. Guys on the level of a Kage are rare, and they don't just appear out of nowhere. So for one of them to be able to start his own village… he's got to be a missing nin. And that means…"

Kankuro held up a nondescript book, the sight of which made Naruto's eyes widen. "Is that…?"

"He's got to be in the Bingo Book," Kankuro concluded with a smug grin.

"I thought genin weren't supposed to have those," Naruto said, squinting dubiously. "Is that really a Bingo Book?"

"Of course it is!" Kankuro burst out. "Who do you take me for? I'm no ordinary genin! I used my connection to get hold of one."

Actually, he had just bullied an unfortunate record keeper into handing it over, mostly by shamelessly invoking his connection to the Kazekage. But that didn't sound as impressive.

"Anyway," Kankuro continued, "I'm pretty sure I know who it it. Someone willing to go after Hidden Leaf, with an interest in human experimentation… It's got to be this guy."

Opening the Bingo Book to the right page, Kankuro held it out to Naruto. "Orochimaru of the Sannin…?" Naruto read out the name of the listed shinobi.

"That's right. One of the Sannin is definitely Kage-level," Kankuro said, nodding along as Naruto scanned the rest of the entry. "He defected from Hidden Leaf a while back — on, get this, changes of human experimentation. But he just disappeared off the map for years. If he's been building his village, it makes sense. Not to mention, he's practically the only one who's enough of a big deal to make Father decide on something so crazy…"

Naruto hummed thoughtfully as he considered the information in the entry. He didn't even think of doubting Kankuro's conclusion.

"Anyway, here's what I was thinking," Kankuro went on. "Hidden Sound or whatever might be the face of his operations, but it can't be his only base. Try to find out what he's been doing all these years. Or just find out about him in general."

"Got it," Naruto muttered, tapping at one section in the entry — the teammates and known associates part — then beginning to flip through the pages in search of something.

"But, Naruto, you gotta understand… Not just any info will do," Kankuro said, frowning. "Father won't be convinced to change his mind easily. Even if you prove this Orochimaru guy has his own agenda, Father won't care. Even if he's just using us, we're basically just using him too. And he's not gonna care that this freak experiments on people, or anything like that. You have to prove he's going to betray us and leave the village off worse than before. Do you get that?"

Finally, Naruto looked up. "I get that," he said seriously, meeting Kankuro's gaze. "But I'll definitely find it. There's no way a guy like this isn't planning to betray us." Suddenly, he grinned. "Thanks, Kankuro. This'll really help. I've already got a good idea about where to start!"

"Yeah, well, you should be grateful," Kankuro grumbled, glancing away and flushing a little under his warpaint. "You definitely owe me one. I'll make you pay up after we deal with this mess."

'...Do I actually think he can do it? I've really lost it,' Kankuro thought as he headed back outside. He had to bite back a groan. Gaara was one thing, but him believing in Naruto was just ridiculous. After all, Naruto was undoubtedly a stupid brat with more guts than brains, and a mouth bigger than both combined. So why was he acting like he actually thought Naruto had a chance?

Then, he really did groan. "I forgot to get the Bingo Book back!" he realized.

~.~.~

Being called into a meeting with the Kazekage twice in as many days should have been a cause for concern and would have left almost any Hidden Sand shinobi deeply worried for their future and well-being, but Naruto only looked surly as he stalked into the Kazekage's office.

"Reporting as ordered," he drawled in his most confrontational tone, though he sounded more petulant than anything.

The Kazekage regarded him with silently, and though the man's mask hid his expression, Naruto was somehow certain he was being looked down on with disdain. Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't one to back down, even when it was the far smarter choice. "You can't stop me!" he burst out, pointing at the man. "I've got all the stupid papers I need, and I'm going to show you that you're totally wrong about this!"

It was very tempting to remind Naruto that the Kazekage could in fact stop him very easily — that was part of being a military dictator.

"Watch your tongue," the Kazekage said instead. "Those words could be considered treason."

"What, I can't tell you you're wrong?" Naruto complained, screwing up his face into an even deeper scowl. "It's not like it's the first time! You were wrong about Gaara too!" The Kazekage couldn't entirely hide the way he tensed at the mention of that sore subject. However, Naruto didn't notice. "I bet there were lots of other times too! You should be glad I'm going to show you how wrong you are before it ends up a total mess, like—!"

"Enough!" the Kazekage barked.

Most likely, he woudn't have been quite so angry if Naruto's words hadn't echoed thoughts he had been trying to avoid. He had been wrong about Gaara, there was no doubt about that — the greatest failure. But he had comforted himself with the thought that there had been no right answer, that Gaara had been doomed from the start.

But Naruto had found a way to help Gaara, all the while echoing the words of a woman years since dead. The Kazekage had never forgotten Kushina's steady, piercing gaze as she told him that "love" mattered far more than any seal. No matter how he tried to dismiss her words as an attempt to cover up her own failure to change Gaara's situation, he had never quite been able to.

Her son had the same eyes.

Was that why Gaara, Baki and Kankuro all believed in Naruto and supported him in their own ways? What had they seen while they were on Naruto's team that made them change?

"Why do all three of them support you?" he spoke without meaning to. "You're only a child, with childish delusions. What is the secret value you hold?"

"Huh?" Naruto wondered, completely caught off guard.

Irritated with his own uncertainty, the Kazekage shook his head. There was no point in asking the boy.

If he wanted to know… he would have to see it first hand.

"You will depart in three days, at the western entrance," the Kazekage instructed in clipped tones.

"I'm ready to go now," Naruto protested, scowling. He didn't have any time to waste. That was three days he could be using to find something.

"You will be accompanied by a jounin, who will relay your findings to me," the Kazekage went on, seemingly ignoring Naruto's words. "Don't try to falsify your reports. I will know."

"As if I would!" Naruto yelled, offended.

"Dismissed," the Kazekage said simply, turning away and summarily ignoring the genin. Naruto had no choice but to storm out of the man's office, all the while muttering curses under his breath.

/~/~

"Did you pack…"

"Yes, I packed it! I packed everything! Stop nagging, Kankuro!" Naruto complained, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "I already got this whole thing from Baki-sensei!"

"Quit whining!" Kankuro shot back. "Remember when you went on that mission without only two kunai? Or the one when you forgot your…"

"Argh!" Naruto let out an articulate yell, cutting off what Kankuro had been about the say. "Okay! Okay! But I'm serious. Baki-sensei already checked everything. I never realized you were such a nag… Are you worried about me? Heh, thanks!"

"T-that's not it!" Kankuro sputtered. "Like I care about you! It's just that if you mess this up, we're really going to…"

The reminder of what was at stake made even Naruto's good cheer dissipate, and he fell awkwardly silent, fiddling with the straps of his backpack. Kankuro winced, also falling silent. Maybe it would have been better not to say anything...

Walking next on Naruto's other side, Gaara said calmly, "Don't worry. It'll be alright. You'll figure it out. I believe in you."

Naruto stared at him in surprise, then broke into a wide grin. "Thanks! I won't let you down!" he promised. "See, Kankuro? That's how you should… Ouch!" He yelped as he all but ran into his teammate's back. "What's the big idea, stopping like that?!"

Kankuro didn't answer. He lifted a shaking finger to point ahead of them, toward the western side entrance — really just a narrow tunnel through the cliffs around the village. A man in the plain black clothes of a shinobi was waiting there, leaning nonchalantly against a boulder. Naruto didn't recognize him, but Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously, with a shadow of something that might have been confusion or uncertainty.

"Yo!" Naruto greeted the man. "Are you guy who's coming with me?"

"C-coming with you?" Kankuro stuttered, his head snapping around toward Naruto. "Him?!"

"The Kazekage said he'd be sending someone with me. So I didn't lie or something," Naruto scowled, rolling his eyes to show what he thought of that. "Is that you?"

The man nodded sharply. "Yes. I will be accompanying you. But my orders don't include assisting you. You're on your own." He paused, as Naruto frowned but nodded, and added, "Call me… Kaze."

"Y-y-you?! You're coming with him?! But what about…" Kankuro gestured widely, at seemingly nothing in particular — or perhaps everything. The man, Kaze, pinned him with a cold glare before he could say anything further. Next, the sharp look turned on Gaara, who stared back without expression. Finally, Gaara seemed to come to some conclusion and shrugged, looking away.

"Don't hesitate to use him as a shield," Gaara advised. "He's strong, so he'll be fine."

Kankuro made a choking sound.

"So you guys know him?" Naruto asked, glancing between his two teammates and the jonin who would be traveling with him. Along with his forgettable outfit, the man had a rather forgettable face, the cold expression and the narrow eyes making him look like a thug. Even his hair was a dull, forgettable auburn color. Although, there was something familiar about him...

'As I expected, he doesn't recognize me,' "Kaze" thought. 'With those observation skills, how does he hope to find anything?'

It was not entirely surprising. After all, the Kazekage had worn a mask that concealed half his face, along with the wide-brimmed Kage hat, every time Naruto had seen him. There was no reason for him to be familiar with his leader's face. There was probably no need to even use a pseudonym, since Naruto was almost as unlikely to know the Kazekage's given name.

"The council will handle everything," Kaze said to Kankuro, his cold look keeping the oldest genin silent. "The operation will commence in less than a month. Prepare well."

"You don't need to worry about it," Naruto pointedly cut across his words. His smile was almost menacing in its wideness and good cheer. "I know! Since you'll be on down time until I get back, why don't you guys mentor a trainee? It really helped me a lot when Temari-sempai mentored me, and the academy is always looking for help."

There was, he implied, no need to train or prepare otherwise, since he would make sure the insane invasion operation was called off.

Turning to Kaze, Naruto beamed aggressively. "Let's get going, Kaze-san! I'll make sure you have lots to tell the Kazekage."

"Have a good trip," Gaara said blandly.

"We'll be back before you know it," Naruto assured him.

~/~/

**Notes**

**So, season 2, eh?** You have no idea how many times I changed my mind about my plans for this. At first, I was planning to have the invasion go ahead up until right before the third exam. But I couldn't imagine Naruto, as I had written him so far, shutting up and just going along with it quietly. He's not that smart or mature.

Fortunately, for him, he's got Gaara in his corner, and even the Kazekage hesitates before angering him. And, well, making up its own thing is how NWN rolls!

**Wait, so the Kazekage is traveling with Naruto?** Yes. The Hidden Sand council is probably pretty capable of handling things in the Kazekage's absence. They're used to it. I mean, first the Third went missing in the middle of a war, then the Fourth got killed, and it's not as if Gaara could have taken over at age twelve. The reason he goes with Naruto is to see what is Naruto's deal first hand. He's got no idea what he's getting into.

Yes, his pseudonym is stupid. But Naruto still doesn't catch on.

/~/~


	2. Lair of the Snake 1

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 2:** Lair of the Snake ~ To Wind and Waves (part 1)

**Notes:** Thank you for all your reviews! Now, for an unexpected character appearance...

/~/~

Naruto was rather nervous, actually. In a way, this was his first mission as team leader. Admittedly, that team consisted mostly of himself, and somewhat the strange jonin who had been assigned to basically spy on him, the so-called "Kaze," but it was still a big step forward from being an extra, generally unnecessary genin on a team with Gaara and Baki.

When Naruto thought about it, he wondered if maybe that jonin Kaze hadn't agreed to follow him a little too easily. Naruto hadn't even explained anything, just taken off across the desert. They had already traveled for one day and camped overnight, but Kaze hadn't asked any questions, only watching Naruto with a lack of expression that Naruto's Gaara-trained senses identified as something like bemusement.

Then again, it wasn't like Kaze really cared about their success. He was just reporting to the Kazekage, who wanted Naruto to fail anyway. The jonin was probably happy to think that Naruto was just running around like a headless chicken.

"I have a plan, you know!" Naruto burst out without warning, pointing at Kaze dramatically without breaking stride. "It's a good one!"

Kaze shot him a cool, scornful look that made Naruto's teeth grind. "I'm looking forward to it," he said, in a tone that strongly implied he really wasn't. Kankuro talked like that sometimes, when he was feeling particularly annoying.

"Good!" Naruto shot back. Turning away in a huff, he didn't try talking to the man again.

~.~.~

Their destination was a city in the very northeast corner of the Land of Wind, where travelers and caravans curved their path around the Land of Rain — most preferred to go through Land of Grass, when traveling between the Land of Fire and Land of Earth, but no matter what, no one wanted to tread through Hanzo the Salamander's domain.

The settlements in that part of the country were some of the most lively and populous, matched only by those on the southern sea shore. If you wanted to get good gossip or meet someone from abroad, that was the place to go.

Naruto had a very specific destination in mind. He had looked it up after seeing Orochimaru's entry in the Bingo Book, and fortunately there was something going on at just the right time, right there in the Land of Wind.

Kaze… was not impressed.

"This is your plan?" he said, dubiously. "To do what? Buy porn?"

He glared at the bookstore in front of them as if trying to will it out of existence. The bright stand out front announced a very special event — a book signing by the author of Icha Icha himself.

"Of course not!" Naruto protested. "Mom told me to never, ever, _ever_ read those books. I just want to talk to the author."

The author — Jiraiya of the Leaf's Sannin. One the three legendary ninjas who had been taught by the Third Hokage. A spymaster of some renown. A super pervert. Which of those was considered the most important remained a matter of debate.

As Naruto started toward the bookstore, a heavy hand on his shoulder pulled him back. "Revealing the Kazekage's plans is treason," Kaze said quietly, leaning down to ensure only Naruto would hear him.

The genin turned to look up at him, eyes widening in surprise, before narrowing in anger. "What?! Who do you take me for?!" Naruto hissed. His hand, curled into a fist, twitched as if itching to punch the jonin. "I would never betray our village!"

Jerking away, he jogged to join the line to the book signing — all the while muttering unflattering things under his breath. Kaze watched him for a moment, but apparently satisfied with his honesty, slowly followed.

"Hmm?" Jiraiya drew out as the two of them finally made it to the author's table. If there was a hesitation in his reaction, it was too short for Naruto to notice. "I welcome all fans, but aren't you a little young for my books? Or was it some father-son bonding?" He waggled his eyebrows, looking between Naruto and Kaze.

Naruto mimed gagging. "No way!" he declared, holding his arms up in an X-shape. "I'm a fan! But not of these books! And this guy's not my dad." As Jiraiya nodded agreeably, Naruto continued, "I just came here to meet you. I have two things I wanted to ask you. First, do you have a copy of your first book? I gave mine to a friend, but I'd love to have another. And an autograph on that would be really cool."

"My first book? You mean, Tale of the Gutsy Ninja?" Jiraiya repeated in surprise. "Sorry, kid, but I don't think they even print that thing anymore. It wasn't popular at all."

"What? But it's so good! It's a great book!" Naruto insisted earnestly.

"Yes, well…" Jiraiya smiled wryly. His expression was strange — maybe oddly fond and also melancholy - as his eyes lingered on Naruto's forehead protector and the marks on his cheeks. "When you're a little older, why don't you try one of these? I'll give you a free copy!"

"Mom said not to," Naruto repeated dutifully, again missing the way Jiraiya expression twitched faintly.

'So he knew that woman,' Kaze noted, standing unobtrusively back. That wasn't the reason for Jiraiya's reaction, given that he only knew Kushina in passing, but there were some secrets she had managed to keep from the world at large, including the exact connection between her and the toad sage.

"Anyway, there is a second thing I wanted to ask you," Naruto said. "And it's about your teammate. Do you know where I can find him?"

There was a moment of stunned silence, both from Kaze and from Jiraiya.

'How… how can he just walk up to a foreign shinobi and ask for that kind of intelligence?!' Kaze wondered. 'And for that matter, what is he thinking, giving away his hand this much?!'

Of course, Naruto wasn't much for secrecy, and he didn't care if the entire world knew he was looking for Orochimaru. All the better — maybe the missing-nin would come to find him then.

The humor and lightheartedness vanished from Jiraiya's expression. Teammate? Him? He couldn't even pretend the kid was looking for Tsunade.

"And why," Jiraiya said slowly, grimly, shifting to lean forward in his seat, "are you looking for that snake?"

Naruto seemed undeterred by the suddenly heavy atmosphere. "It's a secret," he said importantly, crossing his arms and puffing up. "I gotta talk to him about something."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, drifting again up to Naruto's headband, then toward Kaze for the first time since Naruto had caught his attention. But whatever he suspected, Jiraiya simply snorted and said, "That guy's someone you should stay away from, no matter what. So just get lost, kid. Go back to your village."

"I won't!" Naruto yelled, slamming his hands down on the table. "I'm not leaving until you tell me! And don't even try to ditch me! I'll follow you! I won't give up!" More quietly, he added, "This isn't something I can give up on."

The two matched glares, both leaning in until they were practically nose to nose. Each contorted their expression in effort to convey how serious they were. All in all, it looked quite ridiculous, especially Jiraiya's exaggerated scowl — like something straight out of a kabuki woodprint.

Nonetheless, Jiraiya was the one to finally give in. With a gusting sigh and a groan of frustration, he threw himself back in his chair. He waved one hand dismissively. "Fine, whatever. You're ruining my sales, so I'll tell you," he said, in a transparent effort to cover up his "loss." Jiraiya sighed again, his lips thinning. "You've got to already know that he left the village. I don't know exactly where he is. That guy's good at covering his tracks, so there aren't a lot of leads left either."

He paused, thinking on all the dead ends he had chased. And even those had dried up over time.

"But I'll tell you one," Jiraiya continued. "It just came up recently and I haven't had a chance to look into it. I heard... he has a base in a small country called the Land of the Sea."

~.~.~

"You realize, he most likely just said something to get rid of you," Kaze snapped, finally losing his patience. "Land of the Sea is just a few worthless islands. It has no value to speak of. There's nothing there!"

Naruto turned to look at him with an annoyingly dismissive frown. "All the better for you and the Kazekage, right?" he said back waspishly. "And anyway, it's a lead! Besides, if it's such a boring place where no one would look, it's great for hiding out."

"Do you even know where the Land of the Sea is?" Kaze asked, gritting his teeth in frustration.

"Well, it's got to be in the sea, so I guess we'll take a boat there," Naruto reasoned. "That's why we're heading south to the shore."

The fact that his plan was actually correct and entirely workable just made it worse, somehow. Kaze wasn't even wrong. Jiraiya didn't expect that lead to pan out, which was why he had not bothered investigating it and why he had been willing to tell Naruto about it. And even if there had been something there… that lead was from ten years before.

Naruto stubbornly refused to be deterred by little details like that.

"Do you have any plan for what you'll do, even if you find Orochimaru?" Kaze asked instead.

Naruto shrugged, looking forward again as the two of them continued their quick-paced journey toward the sea. If nothing else, Naruto had impressive stamina, and they were able to keep traveling almost non-stop the entire day through.

"Maybe he'll do the villain monologue and tell me all about how he's planning to betray us," Naruto said, without a hint of humor. "He'll try to kill me afterwards, I guess, but I'll work out that part later."

'That's not a plan,' Kaze thought, in something approaching wonder at Naruto's sheer thick-headedness.

"Come on! It'll be fine! He really seems like the gloating type," Naruto insisted, by now able to sense when someone was doubting him loudly. Kankuro certainly did it often enough.

Come to think of it, this Kaze guy reminded Naruto of Kankuro in lots of ways. There was even a resemblance… maybe, under all that facepaint.

"Hey, hey," Naruto said, glancing back at his companion. "Are you and Kankuro related? You're kind of alike!"

"...At this rate, even if he tells you he's going to betray us, it'll be at least before a week before you figure it out," Kaze muttered. This, the man began to realize, might have been a complete waste of time.

"That's fine," Naruto said easily. "Cause you'll get it right away!"

~.~.~

Land of the Sea consisted of four major islands and a myriad small ones. The main four were Mother Island, Jiro Island, Taro Island and Demon Island. The entire country was not only small, but also utterly unimportant, to the point that it was not even included on most maps, like the far west reaches of the Land of Wind.

It had no hidden village, and while it paid regular tribute to the Land of Water and its Hidden Mist Village, the Land of the Sea and its residents had not requested a shinobi mission in many, many years.

Thus, it was only natural that the sight of a man in the uniform of a Hidden Leaf jonin, his headband askew over one eye but clearly visible, would draw shocked stares and whispers from the simple fishermen who congregated at the main port.

If he was aware of the attention — and he must have been — the man gave no indication. Instead, he turned to beam down, as much as his mask allowed, at the boy walking two steps behind him.

"Isn't this such a nice place? Wonderful for a vacation," he said.

The boy scowled. "We're on a mission, not a vacation," he said coldly. "A real one, not like those D-rank chores. This is serious, Kakashi." He purposefully left off any title or suffix. Even if he hadn't been already deeply annoyed, he just knew that within the next three sentences, the jonin would say something infuriating.

"Maa, maa," Kakashi drawled, "you should relax a little, Sasuke. A little C-rank like this is basically like a vacation to an elite jonin like me, and the whole point of having students is to make them do all the work. After all, how else are you going to learn?"

Sasuke's glare sharpened. "So basically the only reason you agreed to take me as an apprentice was so you wouldn't have to worry about getting sent out on real mission and have more time to read those books or yours," he surmised.

"Hmm? Oh, of course not. I'm going to pass on my knowledge to the next generation, entrust you with my will, and all that," Kakashi said absently, burying his nose in one of the aforementioned books. It was clear he was just mouthing the words without meaning.

Sasuke bit back a sigh and struggled not to roll his eyes. "Why are we even here? What's our mission objective?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

"I didn't tell you?" Kakashi wondered, his single visible eyes drooping in surprise. "Oops. Well, I suppose you can think of this as special training. Your goal is to become a hunter-nin, isn't it? So you'll be doing lots of missions like this in the future… This is an investigation mission. There is a report of a missing-nin operating in this area. We're going to be looking for evidence to back that up — tracks, sightings, there might even be a base of operations."

That actually sounded like a very interesting and useful mission. There had to be a catch, Sasuke thought, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Of course, the lead is from ten years ago," Kakashi continue blithely. "So the chances of that missing-nin still being there are nil, and we probably won't find anything. But don't let that stop you from trying." He waved one hand dismissively. "This kind of hopeless work is just right for a genin…"

His face contorting into a scowl, Sasuke prayed for patience. "...Can you at least tell me about this lead?" he said slowly and with great care. Otherwise, he might have started cursing, and he still needed to learn a lot from Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed in a put upon way. "I guess I better," he muttered, turning a page. "The missing-nin is Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin. I know you've read about him. He conducted many human experiments before he was finally driven out of the village ten years ago. One of those experiments was using his own apprentice, who is currently a special jonin. Her memory was wiped, so she couldn't reveal anything about him. But recently, she remembered something — that just before the incident, they had traveled to this country."

'No wonder they gave it such low priority,' Sasuke thought. 'That's not even a long shot. It's basically a goose-chase…'

Still, after a moment of internal grumbling, Sasuke took a deep breath and straightened. At least he was out of the village, in the field, and on a C-rank. With Kakashi's careless, lazy attitude, he had almost been afraid it would take another year before they took a real mission. This was still a good chance to get experience.

Sasuke continued to repeat this to himself, as Kakashi ambled down the street, humming cheerfully.

Yes, a good opportunity….

"Oh, look, there's our hotel," Kakashi said brightly. "I'm gonna take a nap. How about you?"

~.~.~

"The disappearances ten years ago?" the shopkeeper drew out. "We don't like to speak of that…"

Sasuke had heard that quite often, since he had set out to ask around for any possible leads. So far, all he had been able to learn was that many people had disappeared ten years ago — at the same time as Orochimaru was supposedly in the Land of the Sea.

He didn't believe in coincidences.

"But you know, you're the second person to ask about that today," the woman commented.

...That was new.

"Who was the other one?" Sasuke asked quickly, frowning. "Why were they asking?"

"It was a boy your age. He had a headband like that too," the shopkeeper replied, thinking. Not Kakashi, then. Not that Sasuke expected his lazy jonin teacher to actually do any investigating. "He's been talking to everyone around the island."

That was all she could tell him, despite Sasuke's persistent questions. In the end, he could only thank her and continue on his way, deep in thought.

He quickly discarded the idea of someone else from Hidden Leaf being sent. Double-bookings were rare, and it wasn't like anyone would forget Kakashi being sent to some backwater on a wild goose chase. The idea of it being done on purpose was also farfetched.

Well, Sasuke admitted to himself, Kakashi could think of something so twisted. He had pretty ridiculous methods of "teaching."

Still, the more likely option was foreign shinobi, perhaps even missing-nin.

Whatever the case may be, he needed to find out who was interested in Orochimaru and why. No one would seek information on the rogue Sannin or his experiments with good intentions. And in the shinobi world, information was power. Keeping it from spreading was also one of his duties as a Leaf-nin.

But where would he find this person? Where to look? It wasn't like they'd just…

"Old man, tell me about the disappearances ten years ago!"

...run into each other on the street.

Sasuke turned slowly in the direction the loud demand had come from. There stood a boy his age, with a shock of bright blond hair, trying to loom over an elderly stall keeper and mostly failing due to his short height. Tied on his forehead was a headband, and on his leg was a kunai holster.

Feeling Sasuke's gaze on him, the other boy glanced over his shoulder. The symbol on his headband was of an hourglass — Hidden Sand Village. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"What're you looking at?" the other boy demanded.

"Aren't you a little far from home?" Sasuke shot back. "What's your business in the Land of the Sea?"

"What's it to you?" the blond replied.

The two of them matched glares stubbornly, their hands inching toward their weapons. But, thinking of the alliance, both hesitated to draw.

"Why are you asking about the disappearances ten years ago?" Sasuke continued his attempts at interrogation.

"Why do you care?"

Exchanging questions was getting them nowhere. "That information pertains to an investigation being conducted by the Hidden Leaf Village," Sasuke stated firmly, trying to sound as official as possible. Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand were nominally allies, so they at least pretended to respect each other's claims and boundaries. Claiming purview might be enough to make them back off, Sasuke thought.

"We're conducting an investigation too," the other boy shot back. "And ours is super important."

"This is a Hidden Leaf matter," Sasuke insisted.

"Yeah, well, this is a Hidden Sand matter too!"

"What does Hidden Sand want with-" Sasuke started to say, only to cut himself off. If Hidden Sand wasn't actually seeking Orochimaru, it wouldn't do to give away his involvement.

"Whatever," the Sand-nin snapped. "Just don't get in my way! I'll find out what's going on here in no time!"

'Not,' Sasuke thought, his eyes narrowing as he watched the other boy stalk off, 'if I find out first.'

/~/~

**Q&A**

**Does Jiraiya know who Naruto is?** Yes. Jiraiya recognizes Naruto pretty quickly, since he kept tabs on Kushina after she left Hidden Leaf. But he's also an old, experienced ninja, so he's not going to let it interfere with his duties. ...Much. However, the Kazekage doesn't know about Naruto's father, and neither does most of the world.

**Why didn't Kushina go back to Leaf?** If there is a plot hole, it's this. The answer is basically grief. Like Tsunade, in a way, Kushina saw Hidden Leaf as the village that took Minato from her. And it seems like she didn't really have any close friends left (given that not one of them canonically so much as dropped by to see Naruto). To her, there was nothing good left there. Maybe she could have taken Naruto there instead of to Hidden Sand, but she subconsciously distrusted Hidden Leaf and chose to go to their ally instead.

**Sasuke is Kakashi's apprentice?** Yeah. He doesn't have a team. It's just the two of them. The how and why will be explained later, such as it is, but mostly it's because his class had a weird number of graduates. Sasuke is specifically training to track missing-nins (you know why), so Kakashi got them this mission as practice.

**What's been going on with the rest of the Leaf rookies?** We'll see some of them later, but I will be honest - most of them, along with the rest of Hidden Leaf, don't appear in this season, and not until, like, NWN Shippuden. In particular, I don't think Team Asuma ever appears at all. I'm sorry to the fans of those characters, but I don't have the patience and motivation to work out the fates of every single character (there are a lot).

/~/~


	3. Lair of the Snake 2

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 3:** Lair of the Snake ~ Deep Breathing (part 2)

**Notes:** Hmm, I guess the first chapter of a story always receives far more reviews than the second. Or maybe everyone hated the second chapter. Who knows?

/~/~

Sasuke glared. Naruto glared back.

"Why are you here?!" Naruto demanded, snapping first and pointing accusingly at the other genin.

"Isn't it obvious, idiot? I'm here to question the only person to return after being spirited away," Sasuke snapped.

"Are you following me?! That's it, isn't it!" Naruto accused. "I won't let you take the lead! I'll find out first!"

"I'm not following you! I investigated and found out about her. It wasn't even hard!" Sasuke hissed.

Admittedly, it had taken some persistent questioning, since the locals were reluctant to discuss those incidents at all, but after the better part of another day, Sasuke had learned that one person had returned from among those that disappeared - a girl, who now lived alone on the far side of the island.

Naruto had actually found out about her faster, being more stubborn and refusing to take no for an answer, but he had instead gotten lost along the way.

Not breaking their locked glares, Naruto and Sasuke moved toward the small house near the water - their steps in sync. Once in front of the door, they raised their hands as one and knocked simultaneously. "Excuse me! Is anyone home? I'd like to ask you a few questions!" they both called out.

Matching each other just made them even angrier, and they continued to glare, while still knocking against the flimsy wood of the worn door, until it suddenly slipped open a crack.

A single dark eye peered out through the narrow gap. "...What do you want?" the girl on the other side of the door asked quietly.

Naruto reacted first, ducking around Sasuke and blocking him from view. "You're Isaribi, right? I wanted to ask you about what happened ten years ago…"

The girl's eye widened, and she gasped quietly, a short, startled breath. "Go away!" Isaribi exclaimed. She tried to slam the door shut, only to find it jammed by a kunai Sasuke had stuck into the doorjamb.

Shoving Naruto aside, he ripped the door open - on the other side, Isaribi scrambled back in surprise. Unconcerned by her reaction, Sasuke stepped inside and advanced slowly. "You are the only person who returned after disappearing. Tell me everything that occurred," he ordered.

Isaribi had tripped, falling to the floor but still scrambling back like a crab. She glared at Sasuke, though her expression was tinged with fear. "Just leave me alone!" she yelled, shifting into a defensive crouch. "I don't know anything!"

"I think you do," Sasuke said coldly. Grasping the kunai he had stuck into the doorjamb, he pulled it free and spun it menacingly. "And you better tell me."

Under his piercing glare, Isaribi was forced to look away. She hunched, curling in on herself protectively. Her eyes darted around, looking everywhere except Sasuke. "I don't remember anything," she insisted, though rather weakly, and even Naruto could see she wasn't telling the truth. "Just leave me alone…"

Sasuke took another step forward, ready to continue pressing her, but Naruto cut him off. "Oi," he said sharply, clamping a restraining hand down on his shoulder, "back off. Can't you see she doesn't want to talk?"

The other genin's frigid look was turned on Naruto instead. "So what?" Sasuke snapped. "It doesn't matter if she doesn't want to. We need that information."

"Don't be such a jerk!" Naruto berated him. "Think about how other people feel a little! Some things... it hurts to talk about. Don't you have stuff like that too?"

For Naruto, that meant first and foremost Kushina and her pained expression the few times she had spoken of her life before their nomadic existence. Where Hidden Eddy Village was concerned, Kushina had at least been able to lay those ghosts to rest, and she spoke of her clan and ancestral home with a melancholy, bittersweet remembrance. The ache of those memories had at least dulled somewhat.

But Hidden Leaf? Naruto suspected Kushina had only forced herself to talk about it for his sake, feeling he needed to know the full truth of his origins, and it had always been with great difficulty. She had only been able mention Naruto's father by name twice.

Sasuke continued to glare, jerking his shoulder out of Naruto's grip, but his look had taken on a different edge and he didn't try to interrogate Isaribi again. "Everyone has their own circumstances. You're not the only one with problems," Naruto added, more quietly. Maybe it was his own selfishness, but he rather thought his own reasons for gathering information were more pressing than Sasuke's.

Judging by the cold look he shot back, Sasuke didn't agree.

During their argument, Isaribi had continued to edge away. Her hand groped along the rough floor and finally closed around a loose stone. As the two boys fell silent in another standoff, she drew her arm back and hurled the rock at them.

"Get out! Just go away!" Isaribi yelled.

Her aim was off, but Naruto ducked instinctively. As Isaribi picked up and blindly threw the next closest thing - an empty seashell - he yelped and backpedaled toward the door, dragging Sasuke with him. The two continued to retreat under a barrage of stones, shells and other objects until they managed to duck out the open door and around to hide behind the wall. Finally, Isaribi let up, though Naruto could faintly hear her heavy, fast breathing beyond the thin walls.

"This is your fault!" Naruto hissed to Sasuke. "It's because you broke into her house!"

"I didn't-!" Sasuke tried to protest, only to realize that he kind of had. He had gotten too caught up in proving he was better at gathering information, and acted rashly.

Realizing his own mistake, and the fact that he was again letting himself get riled, Sasuke just got angrier. With a disgruntled sound, he turned on his heel and began to stalk away. "Fine," Sasuke hissed over his shoulder. "Do whatever you want! This lead's a dead end anyway."

'Whatever! I'll find the next one before he does,' Sasuke thought. 'It's not as if this is the only information source...'

/~/~

Naruto stared after him in surprise for a moment, before shaking his head and turning back to the house. 'I didn't say you shouldn't ask at all,' he thought. 'Just ask a little nicer!' Edging back to the open the door, Naruto peeked around the doorjamb into the house. He immediately had to duck back to avoid the piece of wood Isaribi sent flying at his face.

"Go away!" Isaribi yelled, though her tone was beginning to sound strained, like she was swallowing back tears.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Naruto shouted back, not daring to show his face again. He didn't want to find out how long it would take for her to run out of ammunition. "I'm sorry we bothered you, Isaribi-neechan!"

Isaribi was silent for a long moment before she asked, more calmly, "How do you know my name?"

"One of the fishermen down by the harbor told me," Naruto replied, his tone light.

But it hadn't been that simple. All the locals were pretty reticent about the incidents ten years ago and about the girl who returned even more so. They kept talking about "that one" and the "cursed one." It reminded Naruto a little too much of the way people in Hidden Sand had talked about Gaara, when Naruto tried to ask around about him after they ended up on the same team.

So Naruto had ended up losing his temper and yelling at them to call her by name.

Judging by Isaribi's silence, she knew perfectly well how much he was leaving out.

"...Please leave," Isaribi repeated finally. "I can't tell you anything."

"Okay. I understand," Naruto replied, sighing. "But if you think of anything, please let me know. I'm staying in town here on the island. It's… it's really important, for my village…"

There was no reply, and after several long moments, Naruto pushed away from the wall he had been leaning against and began to make his way back toward the path. Kaze stood waiting there, leaning against a boulder with the same stoic expression as always - Naruto made a face at him on principle, which turned into a scowl as the man sneered back.

"A waste of time, I see," he said, in tone that made it clear he had expected nothing better.

"How would you know? Maybe she told me everything!" Naruto protested.

"I heard her yelling from here," Kaze said flatly. "And I heard the Leaf boy muttering when he walked by." Though he had concealed his presence from Sasuke, more out of habit than any real necessity.

He had also observed the entire exchange using his Third Eye jutsu, but he preferred to avoid revealing his abilities to Naruto. His Gold Dust techniques were rather distinctive, and even Naruto might very well recognize them. He didn't want to deal with whatever brash, loud reaction Naruto would have to that knowledge.

Naruto ground his teeth and glared, but before he could say anything, both shinobi glanced down the path - noticing several approaching presences. Clicking his tongue irritably, Kaze ducked out of sight, his presence disappearing even from Naruto's perception.

After one last glare in his general direction, Naruto turned to watch as several local kids rounded the bend in the narrow dirt path that led from the town to near Isaribi's home. They fell silent for a moment when they caught sight of Naruto, then broke out in loud whispers among themselves, all staring at him sideways.

"What?!" Naruto demanded. "You got a problem?"

The kids exchanged glances, and one of them finally stepped forward, apparently elected as the speaker. "Hey, did you see it?" the boy asked. "Did you see the monster? What's it like?"

"Monster? What monster?" Naruto repeated, his face screwing up in confusion. "There's a monster around here?" That sounded potentially useful.

"That monster!" the boy said, gesturing back the way Naruto had come. "You know… My parents told me a monster lives over there!"

A monster lived over there. Slowly, Naruto turned to look over his shoulder. All he could see was Isaribi's decrepit shack of a house. Now that he was no longer preoccupied with Sasuke, Naruto noticed the graffiti scrawled along the front and the broken windows. It didn't look like a fit place for anyone, much less a single girl, to live. "Demon!" one of the scribbles read, "Go away!"

Why was it, exactly, that Isaribi had been covered in bandages?

Something in Naruto snapped.

"You stupid brat!" he barked, making the children flinch. "Isaribi isn't a monster! She's a person like you and me!"

"B-but my mom said…" one of the children tried to protest.

"What do you have a head for?! Think for yourself!" Naruto roared. "Now get outta here! And don't come back until you learn how to treat other people properly!"

He watched them flee without any satisfaction. When Kaze stepped back out onto the path, smoothly and without a sound, Naruto was too angry to wait for him to say anything.

"What's wrong with you people?" he demanded, rounding on Kaze. "Everyone in Hidden Sand was like that to Gaara too! Why does everyone keep acting like this? What gives you the right to just decide that someone's not, not worth seeing as human? How can you do that?!"

Kaze's surprise at the sudden verbal attack lasted only a split second, before he shot back a frigid glare. "Don't act like Gaara is an innocent victim," he snapped. "Do you know how many of our shinobi, how many civilians he killed? He was treated like a monster because he acted like one!"

"Don't act like Gaara isn't a victim!" Naruto yelled. "He had to hold back that thing all alone, even when he was a kid! That thing…" He swallowed heavily, remembering the terrifying pressure of Shukaku's presence. Even just a few moments before it had been enough to make Naruto fear its power. "No one helped him! No one showed him how! No one even… no one even held his hand and stood beside him…"

To Naruto, Gaara was always strong and reliable, the one who never wavered on missions, was never overwhelmed, and even had enough power to protect Naruto. In Naruto's mind, if anyone was strong enough to overcome even a biju, it was Gaara - he had proven that too, when he took back control when Shukaku began to rampage in the Land of Rivers.

But even Gaara had been just a kid once. Naruto knew that the things that he could do now, as a shinobi, had been impossible for him as a child. Even if he could fight bandits and use cool jutsus now, he had been helpless and reliant on his mother's protection once. Kushina had always stood beside Naruto, always done everything she could to support him, and even her last thoughts were of him.

Gaara hadn't had anyone like that. Temari had admitted that, while she cared for her brother, she had never had the courage to approach him. Kankuro was so terrified any concern he might have had was eclipsed. The Kazekage… well, there wasn't anything to say there.

Gaara had no one.

'He has me now,' Naruto thought stubbornly. 'I'm doing this for Gaara too, for the entire village. I'll protect them my own way!'

"Gaara was scary, before," Naruto admitted quietly. "But that doesn't make it right. No one had any right to expect him to be able to handle it so easily. In the end, Gaara was able to become strong enough to control it. So I won't let anyone treat him like before!"

He glared at Kaze as if expecting him to object. But the jonin only pursed his lips, his thoughts obscured.

"He became strong enough because of you… is what you're saying," Kaze surmised.

"W-well…" Naruto stammered, flushing. He previous fierce look was quickly lost. "That's not what I'm saying! I mean… it's not like that. It's not because it was me or because of anything I did. It's like… Our bond gave Gaara strength. People become truly strong for the sake of others, with the support of others. That's… uh..."

'People become truly strong for the sake of others, with the support of others. That's love!' Kushina had always said. Naruto could easily imagine her beaming smile as she repeated it.

But he couldn't say that! "Love" was so… so sappy!

"Love, is it?" Kaze mused, making Naruto jump and flush. He hadn't read the boy's thoughts - he was simply remembering what Kushina had told him. "Does it truly hold such great value?"

'The vessel must first be filled with love. That matters more than any seal,' Kushina had said.

"What else would you live for?" Naruto asked, turning to him with a confused look. "It's for the stuff you love, right? And for your precious people."

"You're a shinobi. You exist for the village," Kaze said, frowning.

"Yeah, because I love our village. It's my home," Naruto replied. "If I didn't love the village, I wouldn't be a Sand shinobi in the first place. It's the same for you, right? You're a jonin, so you must love the village a lot. Otherwise, you wouldn't have trained so hard to get that strong."

'Such simplistic reasoning… He's just a child,' Kaze thought, closing his eyes. And yet, Naruto wasn't wrong. Everything that he had done for the village, all of it stemmed from the love he held for it and the wish to protect it. 'And the thing Gaara loves, which became his impetus for truly controlling Shukaku, is...'

"I love our village," Naruto repeated, "and people in it - Gaara, and Temari-sempai, Baki-sensei, even stupid Kankuro. That's why I have to convince the Kazekage to call off that plan. If we go through with it, there's no telling how many people will die! I don't want that! What if my friends get hurt? What if the village is destroyed? I don't want us to go to war!"

"...No one does," Kaze said quietly. As the Kazekage, he could never admit it, but as just an unknown jonin, he could finally say it. "No one wants war, not even the Kazekage. But there's no other way. The village is dying. We have to win back our prestige and gain more contracts… This is the nature of shinobi. We exist to fight. And fighting each other… that means war."

"That's stupid," Naruto muttered. Puffing up a little, he recited meaningfully, "If that's what a shinobi is, then I'll change it. I'll find a new way of being a shinobi. I won't give up!"

The line in Tale of the Gutsy Ninja was, "Then I'll break that curse. If there's such thing as peace, I'll find it. I won't give up!" But Naruto felt a little improvisation was in order, and that didn't change the important message his favorite book conveyed.

"When you do, let me know," Kaze said, snorting. "Until then, it's all just talk."

"Fine then, I will!" Naruto declared, stalking back toward town.

/~/~

"You're awfully quiet tonight," Kakashi commented, slowly turning a page in his beloved book. "I expected you to be more frustrated about failing to find out anything."

Sasuke shot him a dirty look - he hadn't failed, he just needed more time - but refused to rise to the bait and turned to look out the window of their hotel room once more. It was long past sunset, and the horizon was hidden in the dark, the sea and the sky merging into one, seamless whole.

It was a meditative sight, and the repetitive sound of the waves helped clear his mind.

"I told you about that Sand shinobi who's been asking around too," Sasuke said, making Kakashi glance at him for a moment - he hadn't expected Sasuke to actually share anything. "I've been thinking about… his circumstances."

Everyone has their own circumstances, that boy had said. He wasn't the only one with problems. So what problems did that Sand ninja have? Why did he say his mission was so important? Was he just blowing hot air and trying to exaggerate his own importance, the way that Inuzuka loudmouth in Sasuke's class always had? Or was there something else going on?

"Where is the rest of his team? I think he's just a genin, so he can't have been dispatched here alone," Sasuke went on. "But I didn't see or hear about any other shinobi here. If he did get sent alone, why? This place is so far from Land of Wind. Is he being punished for something?"

Sasuke smirked a little at the thought. Given the Sand-nin's obnoxious personality, Sasuke could only imagine the sort of mess that loser must have caused to get such an assignment.

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "It's good to hear to hear you're thinking about these things. Considering your target's mindset and circumstances is an important part of being a hunter-nin. You need to get into their head, figure out how they think, what motivates them, so you can predict where they will go and what they'll do. See? Didn't I tell you this would be a great learning experience?"

The teasing tone of the last part made Sasuke scowl again, but Kakashi had been mostly serious. Sasuke had a tendency to be too focused, to the point of tunnel vision, so while wondering about a foreign ninja wasn't part of the mission, it was for the best that he was actually looking outside himself for once.

'Although, it would be best if he didn't end up making his first friend outside the village,' Kakashi noted to himself. 'That could become a problem down the road. And… I'd like to know what he's doing here, too.'

"So, tell me about your new friend," Kakashi said, in his most cheery, beaming tone, his lone eye closing into a happy crescent. "What's his name?"

Sasuke opened his mouth as if to reply, then paused thoughtfully. "...I don't know," he realized. They had started arguing from the first and never gotten around to introducing themselves.

'I'll ask him tomorrow,' Sasuke decided. 'After all, there's just one more lead after this.'

/~/~

"I'm telling you, kid, there's no one anywhere in the Land of the Sea who'll take you to Demon Island," the fisherman insisted. "That place is a death trap. It's not safe to approach. And it's cursed!"

Irritated, Sasuke shook his head, but he accepted the answer. It was the same thing he had been told by every other seafarer he had spoken to. The locals feared Demon Island, both because of the treacherous sea currents around it and because of its perceived curse.

Speaking to them about the former, Sasuke was beginning to wonder more and more if the so-called "spirited away" disappearances weren't just a result of unfortunate accidents at sea, fishermen misjudging the water and being dragged under or being shipwrecked. Maybe the reason Isaribi hadn't wanted to talk about it wasn't because of anything she had seen, but rather because of the way she had been stigmatized by the others since returning.

There wasn't even any other "proof" of Orochimaru's presence in the Land of the Sea. No one remembered seeing him or his apprentice, no one had seen anything else. It really was looking like a wild goose chase. The only option left was to investigate the site of the disappearances in person.

He glanced around the docks absently, as he had been doing all morning. "Hey," Sasuke called out to the fisherman, who had begun to turn back to his work, "has anyone else asked to go there today?"

"Kid, no one's ever asked to go there," the man said, shaking his head.

The others had said that too. Sasuke had expected to run into the Sand-nin while they both tried to get a boat to Demon Island, but there was no sign of him.

'Did he find another lead? No, impossible. There's nothing else anywhere on these three islands,' Sasuke thought. 'And he can't have missed this lead. Everyone mentions it. So where is he and what is he doing?'

/~/~

Sasuke as right - Naruto had thought of the same lead and tried to follow up on it. But like everything else, Naruto had to do it in his own way. And that included not doing the reasonable thing and trying to get a boat. Instead, Naruto had decided to to just walk across the water between the islands.

It was far from impossible. Naruto's stamina and chakra reserves were more than enough for such a trip, and traveling across the desert quickly was basically an exercise in constantly using chakra to stay atop the sands, so he had experience in maintaining his control for long periods too.

Walking over the sea and its high waves was harder than Naruto had expected, but hardly undoable. He snickered, feeling smug and self-satisfied. That would show them! He'd find proof of Orochimaru's wrongdoing, track him down and make admit he was planning on double crossing them! Or something like that.

That stupid Kaze had refused to come - he had strategically snuck some Gold Dust into Naruto's pack instead, though Naruto didn't notice - but Naruto would just have to drag the proof to him.

Having worked himself into an enthusiastic, energetic mood, Naruto picked up the pace and was soon running across the channel between the islands in long, leaping strides. He could already see Demon Island coming up. It was much smaller than Mother Island at Naruto's back, and far more desolate. The sheer cliffs rose straight out of the sea, and the vegetation on its peaks was sparse at best. No wonder no one had bothered settling there.

Caught up in his excitement and having come to expect a certain degree of instability underfoot from the waves, Naruto was taken completely off guard when - on his next step - his chakra was completely disrupted and his foot slipped sideways.

The water around him churned and swirled with a dull, building roar.

"A… whirlpool?!" Naruto shouted, pinwheeling his arms and struggling to stay atop the waves. He tried to run in the opposite direction of the spinning water, but his feet slipped out from under him as soon as he put them down, his chakra unable to counter properly.

'If I get dragged down into that, I'm dead!' he thought gritting his teeth.

On his next step, his leg sank into the water to the shin. After that point, he wouldn't be able to pull himself back out. In a desperate move, Naruto clapped his hands together, molding wind chakra.

During the fight with Shukaku, Naruto had been able to propel himself forward by misaiming his Gale Palm jutsu to hit him in the back. If he could go forward, he could go other directions too, Naruto reasoned frantically. It was all just a matter of changing the point where Reppusho's wind blast originated and the direction it went.

And while Naruto was somewhat lacking in many areas, one thing Temari had been able to beat into him was flexibility in the use of wind-style ninjutsu.

Reppusho's gale blast hit him low from the side, pulling Naruto free of the water and sending him flying back the way he had originally come.

But Naruto had forgotten an important point. In the fight with Shukaku, he had been thrown straight forward and crashed into Gaara, quite literally, which had been his goal all along. But this time, crashing was not a good thing. Losing his bearings in his confused tumble through the air, Naruto couldn't catch himself before he fell into the sea.

Instantly, the underwater currents dragged him down further and into the grip of the whirlpool. Spun every which way, Naruto gasped out, losing the last of his precious air. Everything started going dark. Just before he lost consciousness, Naruto thought he saw a wavering silhouette, swimming toward him.

/~/~/

**Q&A:**

**So, Sasuke and Naruto?** *shrugs* I've been watching Shippuden again, and oh man, it's all SasuNaru all the way. I tried to do well by him. The long-term image I'm going for is "two people walking their own paths, that intersecting from time to time." I guess Sasuke's sort of… the hero of another story? The "Leaf-side" story that no longer has much to do with Naruto.

/~/~


	4. Lair of the Snake 3

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 4:** Lair of the Snake ~ Diver (part 3)

**Notes:** A pretty short chapter, unfortunately.

/~/~

Naruto came to slowly. His head was pounding, and his body felt strangely sore. Even as he blinked his salt-encrusted eyes, everything remained largely dark. The only sound was his own raspy breathing and the soft splash of water against rock.

"Take it easy. You almost drowned," someone said softly next to him.

"I… Isaribi?" Naruto said. "You saved me…?"

He tried to sit up, only for his head to spin, forcing him to close his eyes lest he vomit. A gentle hand rubbed his back, and some kind of container was pressed to his lips. Naruto drank slowly, though it was probably against what shinobi would consider common sense.

It was just water, slightly stale, but Naruto was glad for it. With his throat clear, he could finally breathe and take stock of the situation.

As his adjusted to the gloom, he could see that Isaribi was indeed kneeling next to him, both of them still damp from their swim in the sea. She had found and lit a lantern, which illuminated a rough cavern, with a pool of dark water on one side and a narrow strip of rock shore on the other. Several old crates were stacked against the wall, something that looked like a doorway nearby.

"Thanks. You really saved me," Naruto said, smiling at the girl, who turned away quickly. He didn't let her shy manner bother him - it wasn't any stranger than Gaara's odd behavior. Both of them had led tough lives.

"I told you to stay away," Isaribi said quietly. "Because it's dangerous like this."

"So you followed me because you were worried?" Naruto asked. "Thanks for that too. But now we're on Demon Island, right? And this cave…" He saw the way Isaribi tensed, but went on. "...It's the place where the people who disappeared were taken."

Her instinctive flinch was answer enough. 'Looks like we found Orochimaru's lair,' Naruto thought.

"But it seems like this place has been abandoned for a long time," he continued casually. "So I guess we don't need to worry about getting caught or anything. That's good." Groaning a little, he climbed to his feet and stretched. Grinning, Naruto decided, "I'm gonna look around!"

"You mustn't!" Isaribi burst out. "It's not safe, even if there isn't anyone here!"

"It's okay. You don't need to worry," Naruto assured her with a smile. "I'm a shinobi. I can avoid traps easy! And this is why I came to the Land of the Sea. Thanks, for guiding me here. This place must have many bad memories for you. You don't have to stay."

"But…" Isaribi tried to say.

"There must be another way out," Naruto reasoned. "They wouldn't have swam here through the whirlpools every time. I'll find that." 'And drag that stupid Kaze here,' he added mentally. 'So he can help me look at everything.'

"Do you… do you know what this place is?" Isaribi asked quietly, looking away again.

Naruto nodded slowly. "Not exactly, but I can guess," he said. "The guy who used this place experimented on people. He kidnapped anyone who came close and used them for his messed up research. Probably… most of them died. But you managed to escape."

Finally, Isaribi nodded. "...It's because I'm…" She couldn't form the words.

Instead, she held up one arm, the one that had been wrapped in bandages before. That entire arm… was covered in scales.

Scales also ran up her neck and along the side of her face. One of her bare legs was similarly transformed. This was what she had been hiding with the bandages, and probably the reason the locals had rejected her so completely. Isaribi had returned from being spirited away, but not fully human any longer.

"A mermaid!" Naruto said brightly. "Getting rescued by a beautiful mermaid… I'm really a lucky guy!"

"A mermaid…?" Isaribi repeated in disbelief. "I'm not a mermaid! I'm a monster! Look at me! Look at my true self!"

She stood, spreading her arms wide. But she did more than show off the places where her body had mutated. Her skin trembled visibly - and, before Naruto's eyes, transformed. Her entire body and even her hair changed to fish-like scales, her limbs thickened and her bared teeth sharpened. She looked almost feral as she glared at him.

Naruto blinked in surprise. But he had stared down Shukaku, a real not-human monster, and Gaara under Shukaku's influence. His surprise lasted only a moment, and then Naruto smiled again.

"I already saw your true self, when you worried about me and saved me," he said. "No matter what you look like, I know you have a good, human heart."

Isaribi flinched as if his words had been an attack. She shook her head frantically, denying what he said. Abruptly, she spun around and took a running dive into the dark water.

Watching her flee, Naruto only bit his lip and sighed.

"Okay! I'm gonna look around," he said to himself, marshaling his determination. "There's got to be something useful here…"

/~/~

A few hours later, even Naruto's optimism was beginning to wane.

He had found plenty of things, of course - very disturbing things. Mutated corpses floating in glass tanks, reports of progressing mutations, chambers full of decayed bones, all remnants of Orochimaru's research. Naruto didn't have the expertise to judge what the purpose of it all had been, and he didn't have the time to try to puzzle it out.

What he hadn't found were the two things he needed - some clue to where Orochimaru had gone from there, and some way out.

As Naruto had expected, there was at least one exit out to the island surface. But from there, it was still an island. As a shinobi, Naruto could walk down the stiff seaside cliffs, but after a bit of testing - far more cautious now that he knew what could happen - he discovered that the whirlpools and powerful, unpredictable currents extended all around Demon Island. There wasn't a single place where he could safely cross.

"Argh! What am I, castaway on a deserted island?!" Naruto yelled into the sky, losing his patience. "Civilization is right there!" Crumbling to the ground melodramatically, he hung his head. "What if I can't get off? What if I starve to death here? And where is that stupid Kaze?!"

More than getting off, Naruto wanted Kaze to take a look at the contents of the hidden lab and see if he could find some other lead on where Orochimaru had gone.

Surely the jonin would come looking for Naruto eventually?

In fact, Kaze knew exactly where Naruto was and had already taken a look around the lab using the Gold Dust he had attached to Naruto. There was nothing useful, as far as he could see. Like Kankuro had said, the records of gruesome human experiments did nothing to change his opinion. He might have found them distasteful, but he had been a shinobi too long to be truly swayed by such things.

And as for Naruto, a few days of solitude to ruminate upon his foolishness would only do the boy good. After that, Kaze would retrieve him with the Gold Dust.

/~/~

Fortunately for Naruto, there was someone else on Mother Island who was thinking about him.

After speaking with everyone who owned a boat being turned away, Sasuke took to combing the island again. Theoretically, he was searching for another lead, but he was also keeping his eyes open for a flash of bright blond hair and orange t-shirt.

Had the Sand-nin found something Sasuke hadn't noticed? That seemed impossible. That idiot? Yeah, right. Or had he left? That didn't seem likely either. He seemed like the stupidly stubborn sort, and he had been so insistent about needing to investigate this…

Completing another circuit of the town, Sasuke found himself pacing restlessly around the marketplace. He was all out of leads. Should he report to Kakashi that there was nothing to find? Was the mission a failure? No, it wouldn't be that. No one had expected anything in the first place.

But he still had so many questions...

Sasuke was pulled out of his thoughts as the chatter of the locals around him fell silent. He turned in the same direction as all of them were looking and blinked in surprise.

Isaribi was striding determinedly through the marketplace, the newly wrapped bandages clinging to her still-wet skin. She stopped in front of Sasuke, her lips pursed determinedly as she studied him for a moment. "I need to talk to you," she said quietly but firmly. "It's about your friend."

"He's not my-" Sasuke started to say reflexively, but cut himself off. This was something he wanted to hear. "Alright," he said instead. "But let's talk somewhere else."

Once he heard what the Sand genin had done, he had to fight the urge to facepalm. 'That… idiot!' Sasuke thought. 'Even though we were told over and over again how dangerous the waters over there are, he just charged in!'

"Let's start from the top," Sasuke decided. "Can you show me the safe passage to Demon Island?"

Isaribi shook her head. "There isn't one," she said. "The whirlpools appear all around the island. I… I'm strong enough to swim through and under them, but it's impossible for a normal person."

"That can't be right," Sasuke said, brow furrowing. "Even if he's an S-rank and could make it through, he wouldn't have bothered going that way every time. Not to mention he would have had to get supplies there somehow. There must be some other way onto the island."

'But what? A tunnel? That seems unlikely. A technique for going past the whirlpools?' Sasuke thought. 'Or… the opposite?'

"You said the whirlpools appear. And it caught that idiot by surprise," he said slowly. "Are you saying they aren't always there? They activate when someone comes close? Was it always like that? Ten years ago, no, before that, was Demon Island the same? Or did the phenomenon start within the last generation?"

Isaribi's eyes widened in surprise as she listened to his barrage of questions. "Y-yes, they aren't visible from afar. Or rather, they're not always there. I guess… they always appear when someone comes close, I haven't seen them appear otherwise…" she stammered out, caught off guard. She had to think for a moment before continuing, "I don't know when it started. Demon Island was always dangerous, but I think I heard it became impossible to approach ten years ago…"

Though, after the numerous disappearances, few had tried, and there was no way to tell how many had been drowned and how many became more experimental subjects for Orochimaru.

"I think I understand," Sasuke said, nodding to himself. "After setting up his hideout, he used some kind of technique to create those whirlpools, to keep anyone from being able to access it. Most likely, he left it active after abandoning this place ten years ago."

"Ninjas can do even something like that?" Isaribi wondered. The scale of that sort of technique was entirely different than anything else she had seen or experienced.

"Well, I don't know how," Sasuke admitted. "But in that case, there must be a way to deactivate it."

"Should I tell him about it?" Isaribi offered.

Sasuke sighed. "Not yet. I don't know what this sort of technique would even look like, and he probably doesn't either. First… we'll have to consult my team leader." He couldn't help making a face at that.

Kakashi was bound to say something annoying, like…

"I'm so touched you thought of me. I'm always happy to help out my cute little student~!"

Yes, just like that…

With a startled yelp, Sasuke spun around - only to find Kakashi standing behind him, waving with the air of a bright smile. It was absolutely infuriating, more so because Sasuke hadn't sensed him at all. He had no idea when Kakashi arrived or when he started following his student.

Isaribi had also let out a small sound of shock, jumping back. Her bandages, tied in a hurry, slipped a little, and Kakashi speculatively eyed the small flash of scales he caught sight of. Before Isaribi could notice - and cringe away - he turned his attention back to Sasuke and smiled again.

"Now, why don't you tell Sensei all about it?" he suggested.

/~/~

After praising Sasuke for his hard work a little too enthusiastically to be genuine and ruffling his hair, which Sasuke hated, Kakashi had finally considered the matter seriously.

The only way to create such a wide-scale effect, he told Sasuke and Isaribi, was through seals. A large seal, probably either in the center of the island or somewhere halfway into the water. The sealing arts were not his specialty, so he couldn't speculate much further about its workings, but since they didn't really need the seal intact, disrupting it wouldn't be too difficult.

Destroying part of the physical array and causing a break within the circulating chakra would shut it off, Kakashi explained.

"Physical array?" Naruto repeated thoughtfully, once Isaribi relayed the information to him, having swam back to Demon Island to tell him everything Sasuke had found out.

"The, um, jonin said it would look like a bunch of black scribbles," Isaribi repeated faithfully.

"Oh, I know where that is," Naruto said, slapping a fist into the opposite palm.

Although he hadn't figured things out the way Sasuke had, he hadn't been idle either. After his short bout of melodrama, he set about completely exploring and mapping out the hidden lab. The massive seal array had been easy to find, the large chamber it occupied all but humming with the chakra circulating through it. Naruto had stared at in bemusement for several minutes, but he hadn't had much of a head for the sealing arts, despite Kushina's best attempts to teach him the basics.

Since this seal was supposed to last for years or even decades, it wasn't possible to just scrape the paint off, not that Naruto wanted to put his limbs anywhere near the seal when it deactivated. There was always a chance the whole thing would explode.

Naruto supposed he could have just used an explosive tag. But that also carried the risk of a cave in, and Naruto still wanted to get a better look at everything in the lab. So he went with what he was good at and his all-purpose solution to every problem - wind style ninjutsu.

Standing at the very edge of the chamber housing the seal, Naruto clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"

There was no particular reason to clap. This was Temari's favorite jutsu, and as such was used in combination with her war fan, with no hand seals. But Naruto had gotten into the habit of making the motion, especially since Temari had beaten him over the head every time he tried to substitute some dramatic gesture instead.

Kamaitachi was nothing resembling precise - well, not in Naruto's hands - but it was powerful and destructive. The gale Naruto unleashed howled through the chamber, cutting deep gashes in the walls, the ceiling and the floor, including the seal array drawn across it.

The seal symbols glowed brightly as the chakra within the seal wavered and began to go out of control. It wasn't quite the explosion Naruto had half-expected, but force of the chakra being released made the entire cave shake, dust raining down from the ceiling.

That was nothing compared to what was taking place outside. Sasuke had followed Isaribi, having finally intimidated a local into renting him a small boat, to the very edge of the danger zone, Kakashi stretched across one half of the vessel leisurely. They had been waiting, with growing impatience from Sasuke, when the sea in front of them suddenly became wild.

Whirlpools formed and clashed without any rhyme or reason, the waters frothing and roaring just beyond their where the Leaf shinobi waited. The boat bucked over the suddenly choppy waves, and Kakashi prepared to grab Sasuke and jump out, not trusting his genin to manage this kind of situation.

But a moment later, the sea abruptly subsided. The waters became calm once more, as if nothing had occurred.

"Well," Kakashi commented mildly, "I guess that's that. Sasuke, why don't you go check?"

The look Sasuke shot him was mixed annoyance and disbelief, an increasingly familiar expression when it came to his teacher.

Inside the underground hideout, the same had occurred - the tremors eased after just a moment. Naruto raised his head gingerly and peeked into the chamber where the seal had been. The black symbols were gone, the seal disabled. Exchanging a glance with Isaribi, Naruto shrugged.

"Huh. I didn't think it would be that easy," he said. He didn't dwell on it for long though.

/~/~

Naruto didn't know it, but his instincts were right. It wasn't that easy.

In another underground hideout, much like the one in the Land of the Sea, but much larger, more elaborate, and still in use, the master of the hidden labs watched as one of his many subjects made his way into the chamber and knelt.

"How is your condition, Kimimaro?" Orochimaru asked, offering something that might have been meant as a kind smile to the pale teenager in front of him.

"Stable, Orochimaru-sama," Kimimaro reported. "I am ready to carry out your will."

Orochimaru smirked, pleased. "Good, good. I have just the thing - a little errand to get you warmed up. The defenses around one of my old labs have been deactivated."

Kimimaro nodded, understanding. It might have been a malfunction, or simply the seals giving out with time, but Orochimaru didn't make miscalculations like that. His work was superior in every way.

The lab must have been breached by outsiders.

"I will hunt them down and eliminate them," Kimimaro swore. "I will not fail you, Orochimaru-sama."

"Take Jirobo with you. That place has no further use to me. Get rid of it," Orochimaru ordered, accepting his words easily and waving him away.

Ducking his head until he was almost prostrate, Kimimaro flickered out of sight.

/~/~

**Q&A**

**Why is this chapter so short?** Because next chapter is going to be action-packed. Or something.

**How strong/weak is Naruto?** I get this questions sometimes. What is NWN Naruto's strength anyway? Well, since this chapter is so short, it's time for a stupidly long author's note!

In terms of stats, I would say this: in canon, from the first databook,

**Naruto:**  
Nin: 2, Tai: 1.5, Gen: 1, Int: 1, Str: 2, Spd: 2, Sta: 4, Seal: 1, Total: 14.5  
**Sasuke:**  
Nin: 2.5, Tai: 2.5, Gen: 1.5, Int: 2, Str: 2, Spd: 3, Sta: 2, Seal: 3, Total: 18.5  
**Gaara:**  
Nin: 3.5, Tai: 1, Gen: 2.5, Int: 2.5, Str: 1, Spd: 2, Sta: 4, Seal: 3.5, Total: 20

In NWN, Sasuke and Gaara are about the same, but for Naruto, I would say...

**Naruto:**  
Nin: 3, Tai: 1.5, Gen: 1, Int: 1.5, Str: 1, Spd: 2, Sta: 4, Seal: 1, Total: 15

His ninjutsu is a little better than Sasuke's, but his hand seals and genjutsu are still abysmal. Since he practiced only his wind style ninjutsu, his strength and taijutsu are also bad. In fact, his overall skill spread is pretty close to Gaara's, but lower in all the mental stuff, haha.

**Jutsu list:**

**Reppusho (Gale Palm):** Naruto's favorite. C-rank. Naruto likes it because there are no hand seals. The user just claps their hands together and creates a strong gust of wind, which can even knock over human. It can also be used to increase the force behind projectiles. Naruto has practiced it enough that he can change how the gale winds blow, in terms of origin point and direction. Used by Nagato in the flashback to his training with Jiraiya.

**Senpujin (Hurricane Formation):** Creates a whirlwind around the user, which can push away materials clinging to the user's body. It was taught to Naruto by Baki, since it can even temporarily free the user from Gaara's Sand Coffin. Appears in the last Part 1 filler, used by Seimei, from Takumi village. The full name in the filler is Kujaku Senpujin, but Baki (or rather, I) dropped that part of it.

**Shinkujin (Vacuum Blade):** Infuses wind chakra into a weapon, such as a shuriken or a kunai. This increases the weapon's sharpness and reach. Used by Danzo in his fight with Sasuke.

**Kamaitachi (Sickle Weasel):** Temari's favorite. C-rank. Creates many chaotic air currents that collide and cause countless invisible blades, which carve up everything within the jutsu's area of effect. Temari can manipulate the winds with great precision, to trap her opponent in a tornado that lifts them off their feet or direct what is cut, but Naruto can only use it for wide-scale brute force.

**Kaze no Yaiba (Blade of Wind):** Baki's favorite. A-rank. A pinpoint slashing strike that is like an unavoidable longsword that leaves the target's body mutilated. Baki can even throw the blades like projectiles. Naruto isn't nearly at that level, of course, and his version still lacks range and sharpness.

He might know some more or learn others, but since Naruto's wind manipulation basics are really good, he doesn't have any problems with it.

/~/~


	5. Lair of the Snake 4

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 5:** Lair of the Snake ~ Awakening Power (part 4)

**Notes:** I miss Gaara :(

/~/~

/~/~

"Finally! Took you guys long enough," Naruto declared.

Sasuke shot him a nasty glare. He and Kakashi had been forced to leave their borrowed boat a ways from the island, to keep it from getting smashed on the rocks along the cliffs, but walking on the water and then running up the cliffside had taxed Sasuke's chakra reserves and still shaky control of the technique.

"At least we didn't drown and have to be rescued by a civilian," Sasuke snapped, "you loser."

"You didn't have to go through a whirlpool either," Naruto shot back. "Because I took it down!"

"You only knew to do that because we figured out what was causing it."

"I would've tried that myself, eventually," Naruto insisted. "Besides, Isaribi said it was your team leader who figured everything out."

Kakashi's eye widened a little as the boys' attention turned to him for a moment. He had been lost in thought, staring at Naruto, but he covered his slip well and projected the air of a mild smile at the genin. "Now, now," he said, "don't fight. We all did our part. That's how teams work."

"Right," Sasuke quickly cut in, not interested in another teamwork talk.

Even though Sasuke didn't have a team, Kakashi was very fond of them, and of the entire concept in general, so Sasuke had been forced on many a collaboration mission with other teams. That would have been fine, since it was generally better than having to do D-ranks alone, but the only two passing genin teams of his year both had one of his fangirls among the members, and being forced into close proximity with them was trying at best.

"And speaking of teams," Sasuke continued, "where's yours?"

"Beats me," Naruto shrugged. "I've only got the one teammate on this mission, and he went off somewhere. I'm stuck doing all the work."

Sasuke could sympathize with that. Kakashi had spent most of the mission being useless too. Maybe it was a jonin thing. "What's your mission objective?" Sasuke asked instead.

"I can't tell you," Naruto said honestly. "But it's for the future of the village. I have to do it no matter what."

Sasuke huffed, thinking that Naruto was exaggerating, but Kakashi's eye narrowed thoughtfully.

"So, what's your name?" Sasuke asked finally, crossing his arms and turning away as he refused to feel embarrassed about having taken to so long to find out.

"I'm Naruto!" the other genin answered easily, grinning. "Nice to meet you!"

'It's him after all,' Kakashi thought. 'So that's where you went, Kushina...'

/~/~

Kakashi didn't bother to look up when Sasuke walked into the room with another stack of reports, instead simply continuing to quickly scan through the papers in front of him.

There was a lot to go through, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there wasn't much time. Some instinct, which he had learned to trust, urging to him to hurry and to stay on alert, though the hideout appeared entirely deserted. He had already sent one of his dogs as a messenger to Hidden Leaf, and now he was determined to make it through as much of what Orochimaru had left behind as he could.

Unfortunately, he had to do it alone - because the kids wouldn't be able to make much sense of the reports, and because this wasn't something he wanted them to be looking at in the first place. Sasuke had clearly guessed the second reason and only grudgingly agreed to let his teacher handle everything, but Naruto had given in easily, only asking to be informed if there were any clues about Orochimaru's more recent whereabouts.

'Why is he looking for Orochimaru?' Kakashi couldn't help but wonder. 'Why is Hidden Sand looking for him? And why would they entrust it to a genin?'

It was… bittersweet to see his teacher's son again, after almost twelve years. That was how long it had been since Kushina left Hidden Leaf for parts unknown, taking with her their newborn, now orphaned child. Kakashi barely remembered anything regarding the events around her departure, too caught up in his own grief.

Some days he wondered if she would have stayed if he, Jiraiya and the others had provided more support, but everyone had been heavily hit at the time. There had been so much to do, and the pain of losing the Fourth Hokage was just too raw. It had been easier to just throw themselves into reconstruction and not think about what the man had left behind.

By the time anyone remembered to wonder how she was doing, Kushina had already left. It wasn't a surprise. Minato had been just the last in a long string of painful losses for her - thinking back on it, Kushina had lost every close friend she had to the war, including her jonin sensei and her genin team. Kakashi had always wondered where she went and what happened to her, though he suspected Jiraiya had kept at least some tabs on his student's wife and son.

But to go to Hidden Sand of all places? To have her son become a Sand-nin? Had she really come to distrust Hidden Leaf that much? Well, if she had decided to have Naruto become a shinobi, then a major village would be the best choice, and Hidden Leaf aside, Sand was the obvious way, but...

"Did you find out anything?" Sasuke asked, pulling Kakashi out of his thoughts.

The jonin hummed noncommittally, thinking how much to reveal to his student. In the end, he decided to explain. If he pursued his chosen path as a hunter-nin, Sasuke would have to get used to these sorts of things.

"Orochimaru, before he left the village, was researching alterations to the body," Kakashi explained. "In particular, so-called Cursed Seals, which would mutate and reshape the user's form into a more powerful one, with special abilities. This lab was used for research to further develop those seals."

"And by research, you mean kidnapping locals and turning them into monsters," Sasuke said flatly. He had seen the results of those experiments floating in the abandoned tanks.

"More or less," Kakashi said. "This is definitely Orochimaru's work. One of these seals was found on a traitor who tried to steal the Forbidden Scroll. But it was more complete than any of the examples here. He could transform and then shift back…"

Unlike Isaribi. The poor girl was stuck in a perpetually half-transformed state, which had led to the villagers shunning her.

But even though this was Orochimaru's work, something about it didn't add up. This, even in the form that traitor Mizuki had it, was still not the final version. This was not the Cursed Seal that Orochimaru had put on Anko. There was still some component missing.

'He must have continued his research at another hideout,' Kakashi guessed. 'Well, obviously this wasn't the only one he had…'

"Where are the other two?" Kakashi asked, glancing around Sasuke as if expecting Naruto and Isaribi to follow him in with their own stacks of reports.

"They're still looking around," Sasuke replied without much interest. Truthfully, he and Naruto had quickly gotten into an argument about where to start gathering up the evidence, how to progress through the hideout, who should lead, what to touch and what to leave, and so on. It hadn't taken long for both of them to get frustrated and storm off on their own, with Isaribi hurrying after Naruto with an apologetic glance at Sasuke.

Kakashi shook his head, easily guessing what had happened. "I want you three to stick together," he said. "Don't go off on your own."

"Do you think there are other traps?" Sasuke guessed, his gaze sharpening.

The only answer he received was a distracted smile.

/~/~

"Are you sure you're okay? You don't have to come. You can stay with that scarecrow guy, or go back to Mother Island," Naruto offered, glancing worriedly at Isaribi.

But the girl only shook her head and smiled without humor. "I have to see this through," she said. "For years, I was so afraid of this place, of ending up back here… It's good to know that it's truly over." Looking around at the mutated forms floating in glass tanks, she said, "I suppose in a way I was lucky. At least I'm still alive, and still myself. Everything else, this…" she ran a hand along her scales, "it doesn't matter. Right?"

"Right," Naruto agreed, beaming.

"And it's not all bad," Isaribi continued, half trying to convince herself. "I mean, it's pretty useful, in its own way. I can swim really well now, better than any of the other fishermen. I can reach the best oysters and clams, and I don't even need a boat to go between the islands…"

"...But you wish you could change back, right?" Naruto said, sympathetically. Biting her lip, Isaribi nodded. Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "That guy, Orochimaru, is supposed to be really smart," he said, crossing his arms. "So a normal doctor wouldn't be able to do anything about his stuff. But… I've been thinking. There's one person who might be able to help."

Her eyes widening in equal parts hope and doubt, Isaribi turned to stare at him.

"This person," Naruto said, pulling out the Bingo Book he had taken from Kankuro and holding it open to a certain page. "She's Orochimaru's old teammate. They fought together for a long time, so she'll probably know the most about him. And she's the greatest medic-nin in the Hidden Villages."

"Tsunade…?" Isaribi read out, her eyes darting over the entry. The Slug Princess, one of the Sannin.

"Yeah. She helped my mom a lot in the past," Naruto said. Of course, even Tsunade's skills could only buy Kushina a few more years, but that in itself had been almost a miracle. "I don't know for sure where she is now, but it might be worth a shot…"

Isaribi stared at the image on the page, conflicted. Leave the Land of the Sea and go searching for this woman? This place, as much as she hated it sometimes, was all Isaribi had ever known. There was a certain security in it. Could she really leave it?

And this woman, Tsunade, was a ninja. Finding her wouldn't be easy. Isaribi knew nothing of looking for someone, or traveling, or living on the road. It was impossible. She couldn't do it. She...

She didn't want to keep living like this, Isaribi thought, looking down at her hands, one human, the other mutated and covered in scales. Hadn't she always thought that, if there was even the slightest chance of returning to her normal form, she'd take it? That she's do anything to become human again? Why was she hesitating now?

"...I'll do it," Isaribi said quietly. "I'll try it."

"Old lady Tsunade is from Leaf, so maybe those guys can tell you more about where to find her," Naruto offered, grinning. "At the very least, you can go to Land of Fire together…"

"Hmm? What's this?" Kakashi asked, as he and Sasuke made their way over to Naruto and Isaribi.

"Why are you guys here? We haven't found anything," Naruto said, as their group reunited.

Kakashi held a hand his chin, as if thinking about it. His lax posture gave away nothing of his increasing agitation. Truthfully, he couldn't explain it, but he couldn't shake a feeling of unease, and he didn't want any of the kids out of his sight.

"That's fine. I think I've got a good idea of what went on here," Kakashi said with apparent indifference.

"Did you find any leads?" Naruto asked, leaving in attentively.

Kakashi smiled and said brightly, "Not even one." As Naruto slumped in defeat, he added, "It's only natural. After all, it's been ten years since Orochimaru used this hideout. And it looks like he got everything he wanted from here. There's no reason for him to return…"

/~/~

Above them, on Demon Island's surface, two figures in pale tunics and violet ropes flickered into sight. The slighter one knelt for a moment, placing his hand against the rocky ground and concentrating. Rising, he nodded to himself.

"Do it," Kimimaro ordered his companion.

The thickset shinobi that had been respectfully hanging back lumbered forward and clapped his hands together. But instead of releasing a surge of wind, like Naruto's techniques, he slammed his palms against the earth.

The ground trembled, a shockwave ripping outward and down through the soil and rock.

Even Kakashi had only a split second of warning before the stone around them cracked and the tunnel began to collapse. Fortunately, that split second was enough for him to flip through the four hand seal of a jutsu he had copied long ago.

"Doton: Doryuheki!" he called out, his voice all but lost in the rumbling of the collapsing tunnel.

He didn't have much of an earth affinity, but what Kakashi had was enough to make a thick wall of stone shoot up around and over their small group, engulfing them in darkness and hopefully protecting them from the rockfall.

It was over in seconds, leaving the jonin with only the ringing in his ears and his own harsh breathing. He had probably over exerted himself, but his chakra control had slipped as he barely held back panic. Seeing those boulders coming down onto his team - or at least, his student, his teacher's son and a girl who shouldn't have even been there in the first place - was all too much like that terrible mission to Kannabi Bridge.

"Is everyone alright?" he called out, trying to take stock of the situation.

"Fine," Sasuke snapped, from somewhere in the darkness, on Kakashi's left.

"Y-yeah," Naruto replied a moment later. "I'm okay. Isaribi?"

"I… I think so," Isaribi said faintly.

"Can all of you move your arms and legs?" Kakashi asked patiently but firmly. There was no point in asking them if they were injured. Between the shock and adrenaline, they probably wouldn't even notice if they were bleeding. Just as long as they weren't trapped under the rubble, that would be good enough.

Three affirmatives made his internally sigh in relief.

"Okay, then make your way toward my voice," Kakashi continued. "I'm going to use a jutsu to turn some of the stone to sand and tunnel to the surface. You have to follow me out. Can you do that?"

A few moments of scrambling in the dark and muffled curses later, two small hands patted against him. "I've got Isaribi with me too," Naruto said, from Kakashi's right. Sasuke just grunted.

"Then let's go," Kakashi said. "Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu."

It took some control not to let the Hiding Like a Mole technique burrow him into the ground, but to work on the ceiling instead, as Kakashi straightened - in the small space, he had barely risen to a half-crouch before his head and shoulders hit the rock wall above.

"You go first, then Isaribi," Sasuke hissed, as the sand from Kakashi's jutsu rained down on them. "I'll go last and help push her up."

Wiggling their way straight up through a narrow tunnel was a fairly basic skill for any shinobi, even those that never used earth style ninjutsu. Isaribi had to wonder how they did it - without Sasuke pushing her up, she wouldn't have managed, and she had to hold her breath as it was, which she was only able to do for so long thanks to her unique physiology.

Above them, Kakashi moved amazingly quickly, easily leaving the kids behind, but he paused just below the surface. The collapse, he knew, hadn't been a natural one. Someone had caused it intentionally, and if they were still there - he couldn't get a good read with all the rubble and chaos - Kakashi didn't want to burst out in the middle, while the children were still vulnerable in the tunnel.

"You all make it?" he called down quietly once the sounds of their scrambling were close enough.

"Yeah, we're here," Naruto replied.

"Good. Now, here's what we're going to do," Kakashi said, keeping his tone calm and even. He expected that Sasuke had already caught on and was likely glaring, but for the civilian girl at least he had to act like everything was under control. "I'm going to open up the way to the surface. Get out as quickly as you can and head for the water. Don't look back. I'm going to cover you."

"But-"

"Sasuke, that's an order," Kakashi said firmly.

He just hoped it wasn't Orochimaru himself. Against one of the Sannin, Kakashi doubted he'd be able to buy them even two minutes.

"Ready? On three," he said when Sasuke didn't protest again. "One… Two… Three!"

/~/~

Kimimaro and Jirobo had been surveying the ruins of the hideout, in search of survivors, when the rocks in one spot cracked and broke open to release two Leaf-nin, one Sand-nin and one former experiment. Kimimaro reacted instantly, attacking whoever had dared to infiltrate Orochimaru's facilities, but Kakashi had already bared his Sharingan and retaliated with a roundhouse kick that forced Kimimaro back for a few precious moments.

"Go, go!" Kakashi yelled over his shoulder.

The kids scrambled out of the hole quickly enough, Naruto helping pull up Isaribi, Sasuke hopping out immediately afterwards. But instead of running as they should have, Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a single, momentary glance, nodded in sync and turned to face the enemy.

"Isaribi-chan, run!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder. As the girl bit her lip but obeyed, he clapped his hands together. "Reppusho!"

Naruto had been aiming to push Kimimaro back, but his timing was unintentionally fortunate. The instance before Naruto's gale burst out, Kimimaro fired his own range attack - his fingertip bones shooting out like ten bullets. Naruto's Gale Palm deflected them, sending the small bones skittering among the rubble.

Kakashi took note of them, even as he glared over his shoulder at the two boys. "I told you to run," he said sharply.

"I don't have to listen to you!" Naruto snapped back. "And I have things to ask these two!"

"You're the one who's always going on about not leaving teammates behind," Sasuke added.

At the same time, Kimimaro and Jirobo also exchanged a quick look full of meaning. Kimimaro had caught sight of the emblem on the back of Sasuke's shirt, and their priorities had shifted accordingly. 'So that's the Uchiha boy Orochimaru-sama is considering as a new body,' Kimimaro thought. 'I will judge if he is worthy of such an honor.'

"First, Yanagi no Mai," he intoned quietly, slipping into a combat stance. Several sharp bones burst through his skin, and he darted toward Kakashi.

Kakashi ducked around Kimimaro's elegant swings, backing away in hopes of drawing his opponent away from the boys. However, that was Kimimaro's intention all along. A rock wall burst between the two, created by Jirobo, leaving Kimimaro on the same side as Naruto and Sasuke, and Kakashi on the other.

Even caught by the surprise, it would have taken Kakashi only a few seconds to break through, but the ground under his feet slid sideways, an entire plate moving away quickly and taking the jonin with it. Several more walls slid up between Kakashi and the others, and Jirobo finally landed heavily atop the last one.

"Sharingan Kakashi. I will be your opponent," the heavy set man declared, folding his arms.

On the other side, Naruto and Sasuke had their own opponent to worry about. Kimimaro had flipped acrobatically away from Jirobo's earth barricade, landing neatly to face the two boys.

He was probably planning to say something - "Show me what you can do," or the like - but Naruto beat him to it.

"Where's Orochimaru?" the Sand-nin demanded.

Kimimaro's eyes narrowed, instantly irritated. His hand snapped out, sending five more Finger Drilling Bullets toward Naruto, though the boy was able to dodge them just barely. "Do not speak Orochimaru-sama's name so casually, you trash," he ordered.

"Then you're one of his subordinates," Sasuke judged. "Were you sent here to get rid of the evidence?" When Kimimaro's expression tightened fractionally, Sasuke smirked. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'm sure the T&I department back home would love to have a talk with you. I'll let you have the honor of being the first missing-nin I bring down."

"Hey, hey! No way! He's not going to Hidden Leaf! Him and his info are going to be for Hidden Sand!" Naruto protested.

The two of them exchanged a quick glare, then nodded.

"We'll just have to questions him in the field," Sasuke said.

"Sounds good to me! I only have one question anyway," Naruto agreed.

"Haven't you ever heard," came a cool voice from behind them, "not to cut the meat before you've killed the boar?"

They hadn't even seen Kimimaro move, and they had no chance to react before he attacked. His Dance of the Willow, like its namesake, was elegant and impossible to predict. Kimimaro's bone blades slashed Naruto several times, across the back, the shoulders and the side, before Kimimaro kicked him away.

With Naruto out of the way, Kimimaro turned his attention to Sasuke. The Leaf genin didn't fare much better, for all that his taijutsu was far superior to Naruto's. Kimimaro simply outclassed him by several orders. Soon, Sasuke's shirt and shorts were sporting several long but shallow cuts, all oozing blood but not enough to put him danger.

'He's just toying with me,' Sasuke thought angrily, backing away in an attempt to put distance between them. Against a close range specialist, his only chance would be...

"Is this the extent of your ability?" Kimimaro asked blandly. He watched Sasuke's attempts to maneuver without interest. "The fabled Uchiha clan is not so impressive, it seems."

Sasuke snarled. Forgetting all thoughts of strategy, he charged his opponent, a kunai gleaming in his hand.

"Karamatsu no Mai," Kimimaro intoned. He slipped past Sasuke's slash, catching hold of his forearm. And in the same moment, curving bones sprang out of Kimimaro's arm and were driven into Sasuke's flesh, both injuring and trapping him.

Snorting quietly, Kimimaro twisted around and flung Sasuke away - a move calculated to all but shred his arm. Sasuke winced, rolling to his feet and cradling his injured limb, but still glaring.

"If this is all you have… You are of no use to Orochimaru-sama. Just die here, Uchiha Sasuke," Kimimaro said. "Tsubaki no Mai."

A narrow bone sword slipped out from under his skin and into his hand. There was only a moment of warning as Kimimaro slid into his next stance, before he attacked, stabbing chaotically. The first stab Sasuke managed to evade, the second tore through his sleeve, the third grazed his cheek.

The next dozen, striking faster than the eye could follow, hit across Sasuke's body. Kimimaro seemed everywhere at once, moving fast enough to leave after images. Sasuke ducked and backpedalled, managing to sidestep a few strikes.

And then… then, he started to see. He could see where Kimimaro was, he could see the jabs of his sword, which had been impossibly fast before.

At first, Sasuke thought his opponent had slowed down, but that wasn't it. No, this was...

'Sharingan,' Kimimaro thought, relentlessly continuing his assault. 'So that's the Uchiha bloodline. He's managed to awaken it.'

Sasuke dodged the next three strikes, but he had no time for elation or to even truly appreciate what had occurred. His wounds were beginning to catch up to him, and even as he could read Kimimaro's movements better and better, he was also slowing down.

"Kaze no Yaiba!"

Kimimaro pulled back on his next thrust, just fast enough to avoid Naruto's jutsu. The long Wind Blade still managed to catch his bone sword, shattering it. Naruto tried to turn the angle of his cut, sweeping his two-fingered gesture toward Kimimaro, but the jutsu, an A-rank, was a bit too advanced for him. As Naruto lost control of the Wind Blade, it dispersed harmlessly.

But that was enough of a distraction to allow Sasuke to fall back and regroup. 'Even with the Sharingan, I can't match him in hand to hand,' Sasuke thought, too desperate to feel bitter about his weakness. 'But if Naruto is a Futon user, then...'

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, catching the other genin's eyes for an instance. His hands were already forming a seal. "Katon: Gakokyu no Jutsu!"

Naruto understood his intention perfectly. "Futon: Reppusho!" he yelled, clapping his hands together.

As always, a wind style jutsu combining with a fire style jutsu made the latter grown exponentially stronger. The fireball became a wall of flame that loomed over Kimimaro before coming down and engulfing him completely.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered, though he was breathing heavily. "Although, he won't be able to tell us anything if he got incinerated…"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he stared into the resulting smoke clouds. From his own experience fighting Kakashi, he knew that an opponent of jonin rank wouldn't be defeated so easily. Still, as long as they could at least injure him seriously, enough to slow him down, their chances would improve.

But as the smoke cleared, the genin could only stare in wide-eyed shock.

Kimimaro was not entirely unaffected. His tunic was badly scorched, one side entirely burnt off, his white hair was grey with soot, and his pale skin was reddened in patches from the heat. But the damage appeared superficial, not enough to even slow him down much.

He looked up with a glare that pinned the two genin in place through its sheer killing intent. A tattoo that seemed to glow like fire began to crawl across his face.

"Very well then," Kimimaro said lowly. "Let's take this to the next level…"

However, that promise was an empty one.

The earth wall that had separated the battlefield in two cracked, then burst apart, stopping Kimimaro's attack before it could even begin. Jirobo's form flew out of the dust cloud, hitting the ground heavily between the genin and Kimimaro. He too had begun to undergo a transformation, half his skin taking on a dark hue and one's sclera now black.

Kakashi followed him out through the hall in the stone wall a moment later, the lightning-natured chakra around his hand dissipating.

He looked ready to continue the battle, but Kimimaro only studied the jonin for a moment before straightening. "Jirobo, we're withdrawing," he ordered. "This is enough."

"What?! Like I'll let you!" Naruto shouted, already reaching for a handful of shuriken to let fly.

Kimimaro flickered out of the way, reappearing next to Jirobo and pulling his comrade to his feet. Before any of the other three shinobi could attack again, Orochimaru's subordinates disappeared once more, fleeing quickly.

Sasuke and Naruto both moved to follow them, but Kakashi threw up a restraining hand. "Stop," he ordered. "Don't pursue them."

"That's my only lead!" Naruto yelled, snapping a glare at the jonin. "And you're not my superior!"

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out, but the Sand genin had already taken off.

"We should go too," Sasuke said tensely, glaring at Kakashi.

"Absolutely not," his teacher refused sharply. "You're feeling fine now, but you're going to collapse as soon as the adrenaline wears off. Not to mention that Orochimaru isn't someone we would stand a chance against. We need to report this. The mission just went up in priority… and in rank."

Staring down Sasuke's mutinous gaze, Kakashi sighed and glanced the way Naruto had gone. 'He should be alright,' he assured himself. 'He won't be able to follow them anyway...'

/~/~

In truth, Naruto had lost sight of Kimimaro and Jirobo before he had even gone three steps. All he could do was continue to rush toward the edge of the island and hope that he would spot them once he reached the sea.

"Naruto!"

He backpedalled sharply as someone called out his name. It was Isaribi, standing near the cliffs. She had also made her way to the sea, planning to - hoping to - find some help. As a civilian, no matter what powers she might have been given, she knew she'd only get in the way in a battle.

Isaribi hadn't needed to go any further. Someone else had been moving in the opposite direction.

"Isaribi!" Naruto exclaimed. "And you! Kaze! Where've you been?! Argh, nevermind! Did you see the way they went? I've finally got a real lead!"

"Calm down," Kaze ordered. He hadn't missed when Kakashi and Sasuke traveled to Demon Island, or the sudden collapse of the hideout, and he had been on his way to the battle when Kimimaro and Jirobo chose to flee instead. "We won't lose them," he said calmly. "I have a trace on them."

It had been a simple thing to move some of the Gold Dust he had left with Naruto onto Kimimaro during their battle. He wasn't a Kage for nothing, after all.

His words settled Naruto a little, and the genin acknowledged with a nod. "Isaribi-chan, are you going to be okay?" he asked instead, turning to the girl. "We have to go after those guys…"

Isaribi smiled. "Yeah, I'll be fine," she said. "Thank you for everything, Naruto. I don't know exactly why you came here or what you're looking for, but I wish good luck."

It was true. She would be alright now. Whether she found that medic Tsunade, whether or not Tsunade could return her to the way she had been, Isaribi wouldn't give up. She'd find a way to live and be happy.

Naruto grinned back, before turning back to Kaze. "Let's go," he said, his expression becoming serious once more. "We shouldn't let them get far ahead of us."

"Can you make it?" Kaze asked, trying to gauge the boy's wounds and chakra level.

He received a fierce scowl in reply. "The future of our village is on the line," Naruto said sharply. "I'll find a way!"

/~/~

**Q&A:**

**What does Naruto wear?** Naruto wears pretty simple clothes, black three-quarter pants and an orange t-shirt with a red spiral on the back. On top, he has a short cloak, like the one Gaara wore as a kid or like Nawaki's, but without the decorative stuff on the bottom.

/~/~


	6. Lair of the Snake 5

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 6:** Lair of the Snake ~ His Answer (part 5)

**Notes:** Last part in this arc. Next, an interlude back in Hidden Sand, then the Chunin Exams. You all should know what's coming in this chapter, when you think about it...

/~/~

The place Kimimaro and Jirobo traveled to was another island, further north and east from Land of the Sea - a nameless, apparently uninhabited rock sticking out of the waves.

"Where did they go? Is there another underground base?" Naruto asked, looking around as they made their way onto land.

"The entrance is further in, I believe," Kaze said. "But it's better not to approach it, or we run the chance of being detected. I can scout from here with my jutsu."

Naruto shot him a dubious look, which Kaze met with irritation.

"You don't need to distrust me so much," he said shortly. "I told you, no one wants war, not even the Kazekage. If Orochimaru is truly planning to betray us, I - we - need to know now. The future of the village is on the line. So I won't hold anything back."

Chastised, Naruto could only nod and fall back as Kaze concentrated, closing one eye.

He had kept a small amount of chakra infused in his Gold Dust, the entire time it was with Naruto and then with Kimimaro. It was simple to feel it out and form it into his Third Eye. Doing so subtly, without drawing attention from any of the shinobi inside, was more difficult, but soon an artificial eyeball was clinging to Kimimaro's tunic, observing the dull, dim hallway he was striding down.

'Prison cells,' Kaze noted, ignoring Naruto - who was trying, only somewhat successfully, not to fidget impatiently. 'Are there more experiments being conducted here? No, it doesn't matter… He's going deeper into the base. Is he going to report to someone?'

That assumption was correct. Soon, Kimimaro arrived at the innermost chamber. Slipping inside, he knelt deferentially before the pale figure sitting on the throne-like chair in the center.

"Orochimaru-sama," Kimimaro murmured, "I have a report that may interest you."

"Oh? Did you encounter something unexpected?" Orochimaru drew out, watching his loyal subordinate with a cool, predatory gaze.

"Yes. One of the people who had entered your base was Uchiha Sasuke," Kimimaro said, keeping his head respectfully bowed. Orochimaru did not give any sign of surprise or even interest, but Kimimaro knew he had his master's full attention. "I tested him, and his bloodline awakened during our battle."

Orochimaru hummed thoughtfully. "Is that so…" he murmured.

"He is being taught by Sharingan Kakashi," Kimimaro added. "Jirobo and I withdrew once I had confirmed Uchiha Sasuke's Sharingan. I did not see it as wise to reveal the Level 2 Cursed Seal state." And without it, they would not have been able to take on a shinobi of Kakashi's level.

"You did well to bring me this information," Orochimaru praised, waiting until Kimimaro relaxed instinctively under his words. "But… it seems you also brought back something annoying. Kimimaro, you were followed."

His subordinate froze, and somewhere above them, Kaze did the same as he read Orochimaru's lips. A snake shot out from the Sannin's sleeve, ripping away the Gold Dust eyeball, in the same instance as Kaze dropped the jutsu and opened his eyes in the real world.

He didn't waste time cursing. The first thing he saw was the giant snake looming silently behind Naruto. Kaze's hand snapped out to grab Naruto by his cloak, and the jonin flickered out of the way, just as the snake struck. Its heavy triangular head pulverized the ground where the Sand shinobi had been standing, engulfing all three of them in a cloud of dust.

As the giant snake pulled itself free and lifted its head again, a kunai burst out of the dust to plunge into its eye. The explosive tag attached to the weapon's handle ignited, the explosion followed by the thud of the snake's body hitting the ground.

Kaze landed a short distance away, Naruto hefted under one arm. The genin stared, shocked by the sudden way they had been attacked and the equally sudden end to their assailant. 'T-this guy's pretty good,' Naruto thought, somehow surprised by the realization.

Low, mocking laughter reached the two Sand shinobi, and both of them turned toward the source - a pale, ominous figure that was instantly recognizable to them.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect to see you of all people here," Orochimaru commented as he surveyed the sudden battlefield, Kimimaro a respectful two steps behind him.

"Of course we'd be here!" Naruto burst out. For the first time, the Snake Sannin's eyes turned toward him, but Naruto refused to cower. "We know all about your stupid plan! And we're not going to let you use our village for your petty revenge!"

Naruto didn't actually know anything. But he was absolutely certain that Orochimaru planned to betray them, and he probably had some grudge against Hidden Leaf, since missing-nin usually did. Thus, a plan of betrayal and revenge.

Whether Orochimaru realized that the boy was bluffing, there was no way to know. His expression was simply mocking as he studied Naruto, glaring, and Kaze, impassive, for several long moments. Then, the Sannin chuckled, spread his arms and drawled, "Oh, you figured me out. How unfortunate… for you."

Kaze had kept his grip on the back of Naruto's cloak, aware that it would be up to him to keep the boy alive in whatever came. That proved a wise choice, as he was forced to retreat quickly - dragging Naruto along - when more snakes shot out of Orochimaru's sleeve, toward the two Sand-nins.

A sharp gesture sent a whip of Gold Dust lashing out to behead the snakes.

"So you really were planning to betray us," Kaze noted sourly. "Do you think you can get away with this?"

Orochimaru shrugged, unconcerned. "This is a bit ahead of schedule," he said lightly. "I had intended to deal with you just before the third round, to deal with all the details of the invasion, but if your village can function without you there, then there's no need to keep you alive. Don't worry, I'll make good use of your face… Kazekage-dono."

'Kaze… kage…? Kazekage?!' Naruto thought, stunned.

"Don't think I will be so easy to dispose of," Kaze said coldly, his Gold Dust already swirling around him.

In truth, he couldn't even be surprised by Orochimaru's sudden, apparent betrayal. It was only natural - they had never trusted each other to begin with. It had just been an alliance of mutual benefit, and by appearing without warning at one of Orochimaru's hideouts, the Kazekage had overstepped the unspoken bounds. It was not so much a matter of suspicion, but of becoming more trouble than he was worth.

Orochimaru had no way of knowing if this was just the prelude to the Kazekage selling him out Hidden Leaf.

To be honest, even Kaze hadn't known.

But he had more or less brought this on himself, from the moment he decided to go with Naruto. Had he really expected any other outcome? Or was this the outcome he wished for? To be relieved of the responsibility of making the choice? Now, there was no way to carry through with the original plan, whether it had been wise or foolish.

Despite his words, Kaze knew the best - possibly only - option would be to retreat as quickly as possible. The Sannin were not simply Kage-level. They were nearly unmatched, and any one of them was capable of turning the tide of a war. Facing Orochimaru would not end well, especially not if he also needed to protect a rookie genin…

As the two S-ranked shinobi stared each other down, it was Naruto who acted first.

Ripping himself free of Kaze's grip, he spun around - facing away from the enemy, but not to run. He clapped his hands together, and a strong wind slammed into Kaze's chest, taking him by surprise and sending him flying back.

In the same motion, Naruto finished his spin, turning the full three-sixty degrees to face Orochimaru again, and swept out one hand. "Kamaitachi no jutsu!" he barked, unleashing a wide-area cutting gaze that engulfed both Orochimaru and Kimimaro behind him. "Hurry up and run!" Naruto yelled over the howling wind.

'If the Kazekage is killed…!' Naruto thought desperately. 'What'll happen to the village?!'

Kaze flipped to land on his feet easily, but taking him by surprise allowed Naruto's jutsu to fling the jonin quite a ways. Whether that kind of lead would mean anything when the opponent was one of the Sannin was doubtful, but Kaze did not even try to escape.

For the good of the village, the Kage's life should be a priority. But if this was where his scheming had led, then didn't the village deserve a better, wiser leader? He remembered what Naruto had said - that he would bring the village to ruin.

If he died here… then his value was only this much to start with.

Naruto's Kamaitachi was suddenly cleaved in two, the jutsu completely dispersing - revealing Orochimaru, unharmed and casually holding a long straight sword. The Sannin moved before Naruto could do more than flinch instinctively, the Kusanagi flashing as it was brought down.

Gold Dust sprang up like a wall between them, as Gaara's sand had protected Naruto several times. But the sword never hit. Orochimaru smirked - it had been a feint. His body twisted unnaturally at the waist, more like a snake than a man, and his torso zoomed past Naruto and the Gold Dust barrier in front of him.

His target was the Kazekage, left open by his efforts to protect Naruto. The man's eyes narrowed, and he moved to dodge, even though he could already see he wouldn't be able to evade the attack entirely.

"Die, Kazekage!" Orochimaru sneered, stabbing with the Kusanagi.

Neither of them expected a giant toad to drop down from the sky between them.

Perhaps calling the toad giant was an exaggeration, but it was certainly larger than a man - taller, and several times heavier, and bright red. Its tongue snapped out, wrapping around Naruto's waist and dragging him into its mouth, all before he had a chance to do more than yelp in protest.

Even experienced shinobi, who had seen battles turn in a heartbeat, could only stare in shock. Orochimaru recovered first. "You!" he hissed. But when he tried to strike it, the toad leapt away with an unhappy croak. Its tongue snapped out again, this time grabbing the Kazekage, who wore an uncharacteristically emotional expression of stunned disbelief.

The moment the man disappeared into its mouth, the toad vanished in a puff of smoke, escaping by unsummoning itself.

Returning to his normal form, Orochimaru glared at the spot where the toad had been, then turned away sharply. It would seem he needed to revise his plans.

/~/~

Meanwhile, the large red toad reappeared next to its summoner and quickly regurgitated its two passengers.

Naruto looked somewhere between shell shocked and ready to barf himself. The rollercoaster of revelation and panicked emotion had been a little too much for him, and all the boy could do was plop onto the rocky ground and absently run a hand through his now sticky hair as he tried to sort it all out.

"Ah!" he yelped, his mind finally jump starting. "Kaze-san?!"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, momentarily distracted as well - it sounded more like an affectionate nickname for the Kazekage, than an alias.

"I am uninjured," Kaze muttered flatly. One hand was splayed out over his face, hiding his expression - likely, he had not yet been able to entirely recover his composure.

Naruto smiled in wibbly relief, but his expression quickly shifted into an angry scowl. "Idiot! Why the hell didn't you tell me?!" he barked, making Jiraiya's eyebrows rise even further.

"Why are you reacting like this? It's hardly something for you to worry about," Kaze said coldly.

"Protecting the Kazekage is every Sand shinobi's duty!" Naruto snapped. "It doesn't matter if I don't like you! It doesn't matter if you're an idiot! You're our Kage! Where do you think the village is going to end up without you?!"

Jiraiya's eyebrows had all but disappeared under his headband, as he watched the two Sand-nins glower at each other. Finally, he cleared his throat pointedly, making them turn to stare at him with rather unfriendly expressions.

"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't investigating this lead," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at Jiraiya suspiciously.

"I wasn't," Jiraiya shot back, also glaring. "Until you went and poked your head into a snakes' nest! You should be grateful. It wasn't looking very good for your two!"

Naruto scowled but didn't refute his claim. "So you followed us," he accused instead.

"You should have seen that one coming, kid," Jiraiya said. "Seriously, what did you think was going to happen? Of course I'm going to follow when the Kazekage starts looking for one of our missing-nin! If you wanted to keep it a secret, you should've, you know, been subtle about it. Like a ninja."

Hearing suggestions of subtlety come from a man who thought giant red toad was a great battle tactic really rankled. The Kazekage's "I told you so" expression was almost equally annoying. Naruto crossed his arms and glared at them both.

Jiraiya glared back, refusing to show any sign of guilt or dishonesty - despite the better part of what he said being at least not mostly true. He had barely paid attention to the jonin with Naruto and had definitely not recognized him as the Kazekage, not until he saw the man's Gold Dust. Blatant as it might have been, the veil the Kazekage so often wore had been rather effective.

Instead, Jiraiya had ended up unable to to stop thinking about Naruto and whether he had made the right call. No matter where circumstances had led them, he was technically the boy's godfather. He had a responsibility to him, and to Minato's memory. The chances were slim, but what if he did end up running into Orochimaru? Or even just one of the snake's underlings?

He had also… not exactly been able to follow them. Jiraiya had met up with Kakashi in the Land of the Sea, as the other jonin was sending off a messenger to Hidden Leaf. Unfortunately, even Kakashi couldn't track over water, and Jiraiya had been forced to just make a guess and set out.

In the end, he lucked out. Despite his impressive stamina, even Naruto had limits, so the two Sand shinobi had been forced to stop at a small wayside inn, to get the boy patched up. Jiraiya had heard about them from the cute girl at the counter, who had been all too happy to gossip a bit and point out the direction they had gone. There was only one island that way, though the locals never went near it.

After that, well, Jiraiya had sent his toad in just in time.

Not that Jiraiya was going to admit to how close it had been. Let them think he was all knowing and mysterious.

Judging by their expressions, neither Naruto nor Kaze were particularly impressed.

Jiraiya cleared his throat again. "You should train your apprentice better, Kazekage," he said.

"Take as my apprentice? This naive, stupid brat?"

"Huh?! This guy, my master?!"

Naruto and Kaze reacted with matching looks of disbelief and revulsion. So much for appearing all knowing, Jiraiya sighed. But if they weren't student and teacher, exactly what relationship did they have? Why would the Kazekage bring Naruto along? Especially since Jiraiya was almost entirely certain that the man didn't know about Naruto's father. In fact, didn't it seem like Naruto had taken the lead on this mission?

Whatever the mission was. Jiraiya still didn't even know what these two had been trying to accomplish.

"Right," Jiraiya said, coughing into his fist again, this time embarrassedly. "In any case, it seems like we have a lot of things to discuss."

Kaze nodded. "Yes. But first, we should move elsewhere," he agreed, already turning away to set out.

"...Where are we going?" Naruto wondered. What he really wanted to ask was, "What did you decide? What is your answer?"

"To Hidden Leaf," Kaze called back. "The Hokage and I have much to discuss."

It took a moment for the meaning to sink in for Naruto. Then, slowly, a wide smile spread over his face. 'I'm so glad,' Naruto thought. 'I'm so glad… We're going to be okay after all!'

/~/~

**Q&A:**

**Why did Orochimaru attack them?** Why not? He was planning to kill the Kazekage anyway. And for all he knows, the Kazekage was thinking of pulling out of the invasion. So better to just kill him and take direct control of the Sand forces.

**Why did Jiraiya show up?** What, did you think he just told Naruto where to look for an S-rank missing-nin and let him go off on his own? If anything, that would be weirder, even discounting that Jiraiya would want to know about how and why Sand was involved in all this.

/~/~


	7. Interlude

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 7:** Interlude ~ The Closer You Are

**Notes:** Meanwhile, in the Sand Village.

/~/~

"Did you know about this?" Kankuro demanded. Baki sighed.

Kankuro had rushed off to find his team leader as soon as he managed to pull himself out of his stupor, following Naruto's - and "Kaze's" - departure. He still couldn't quite believe that had happened. Why, why would the Kazekage go off like that, right before such an important operation? And with Naruto of all people!

"If you mean your father's decision… then yes," Baki said, his dry tone making it clear how little he agreed with said decision. "He informed the council that he would be unreachable for a period of time, but that he would return in time to commence the operation. He didn't provide any explanation about his whereabouts during that time, but I could guess."

"Is, is this really okay?" Kankuro wondered.

"The council led the village before, after the Third Kazekage vanished," Baki said. "We have enough power to do so, if necessary." It would, however, be better if it wasn't necessary.

Sighing heavily, Kankuro ran his hands over his face, as if trying to wipe away his weariness. "Are we seriously supposed to just wait until they come back?" he muttered. "This is… Naruto's crazy, but I agree, you know? I don't want to go to war."

'But what can I do? If Naruto can't change Father's mind, no one can...' Kankuro thought.

"The council has quite a bit of power," Baki repeated. Glancing at his student, he smiled rather slyly. "Not more than the Kazekage, of course, but… enough to make things very difficult for him. Too difficult to be worth it. I have no intention of just standing by and waiting. I don't know what sort of insanity Naruto managed to instil in the Kazekage, but we have an opening, while he's gone. We can move freely - this is our chance."

Kankuro stared at him in surprise. "Can that work? I mean, Father must have convinced the council, to be able to go forward with something like invading one of the five great villages," he said. "They're not going to just change their minds…"

"They're not convinced, for the most part. They simply didn't want to cause instability within the village with internal disputes," Baki said, shaking his head. "If the councilors and the Kazekage are at odds, the village will weaken even further. A few agree with the Kazekage's decision, that this is the best and only option left, a few disagree, but the rest can still be swayed."

"Not by you or me though," Kankuro pointed out, crossing his arms. If Naruto had been there, he would have already accused his teammate of being a bad-tempered downer without a single slice of joy in his life.

Baki didn't disagree, but he didn't look ready to give in either. "Where is Gaara?" he asked instead.

'Are you planning to have him threaten them into cooperation?' Kankuro wondered. '...Well, I suppose it could work.'

/~/~

"There's no need," Gaara declared, after they explained their plan to him. "Naruto said he'd take care of it. There's no need to do anything else."

Kankuro facepalmed, while Baki sighed again. "It's good that you have faith in your friend," the jonin said, and wasn't it a weird thought, that Gaara had a friend, "but we need to do our part too. It's important to provide all the support we can."

'That kid… his passion and determination are impressive, but his thinking and planning skills are abysmal,' Baki thought. 'If we leave it all up to him, the village is doomed.'

Gaara frowned. "Later," he said. "I'm busy now."

"Doing what? We're on standby," Kankuro pointed out. And it wasn't like Gaara talked to anyone that wasn't Naruto.

"I'm going to mentor a trainee," Gaara replied seriously. "I submitted my application at the administrative office, and there was a reply."

"They assigned you someone?" Kankuro asked. 'I guess they were too afraid to send him away. I wonder which poor brat they decided to throw under the horse.'

"No, a girl volunteered," Gaara said, shooting Kankuro a rather dirty look, for him. He could guess what his brother was thinking. "I'm meeting her for training this afternoon."

"Uh, I know Naruto suggested it, but is that really a good idea?" Kankuro said. "I mean…" 'The kid's more likely to have a heart attack than learn anything from you.'

Surprisingly, Baki offered Gaara a faint smile. "Teaching someone is a good way of refining one's own skills," he said. "It gives an outside perspective and lets you see things you would otherwise be blind to. Temari advanced quite a bit by mentoring Naruto. It's after that she was able to make the advancement to chunin. I'm sure you'll be able to learn much as well."

'How to better interact with other people, for example,' Baki added mentally. 'Gaara will need to begin integrating into the normal forces at some point, after all.'

Gaara nodded and flickered out of sight in a swirl of sand.

"I'm going to make some inquiries, send out some feelers," Baki said, also departing quickly.

"Great," Kankuro muttered. "And what am I supposed to do?"

He sighed, looking around at the half-full streets. Normally, being on essentially leave for a month would have sounded like a nice vacation, a chance to relax, maybe work on his puppets. But how could he relax with the threat of war hanging over his head? So should he train?

But what good would it do? Kankuro wasn't the type who could make a leap between tiers just like that. His level wouldn't change so easily. If he ended up outclassed once hostilities broke out, training a bit now wouldn't do any good.

Still, Kankuro wasn't like Gaara. He couldn't just trust that Naruto would sort it out somehow. He had to at least try something, instead of just sitting around!

'What a Naruto-like thought,' Kankuro realized, making a face. He sighed again. 'But maybe that's all anyone can do at this point. So what would Naruto try?'

Well, Naruto had Gaara to brute force whatever he wanted…

A powerful ally… Powerful enough to sway the council…

'There's someone like that,' Kankuro thought. His face went blank. 'But is she really going to listen to me?'

...Did he have any choice but to try?

/~/~

Gaara waited, outwardly expressionless, at one of the empty training fields scattered across the village. Inwardly, he couldn't help but feel nervous and somewhat suspicious. There were so many ways this could go badly. What if no one came? What if the girl came and just laughed at him for thinking he could be a mentor? What if she got scared and ran away? What if they tried to train together and he hurt her by accident?

"U-um…" A soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

A girl about Gaara's age, with short brown hair and mismatched colorful clothing, was peering around an archway leading into the training ground. As Gaara's gaze fell on her, she straightened abruptly, hands clutched to her chest.

"Are you Matsuri?" Gaara asked, studying her closely. She looked too timid to be an assassin or to be playing a joke on him. But he supposed it wasn't a good idea to judge by appearance.

"Y-yes! Thank you for taking the time to meet me, Gaara-sempai!" she exclaimed in a rush, bowing deeply. "Even though I'm inexperienced and unskilled, I promise I'll work hard!"

Sempai was what Naruto had called Temari. Gaara thought he could get used to the way it sounded.

"I will do my best to instruct you as well," Gaara replied. Putting on what he thought was his best approximation of an instructor face - not that anyone except Naruto would be able to tell the difference - he said, "First, tell me about your specialization."

"I… don't really have one," Matsuri mumbled, scuffing one foot against the ground.

Gaara's brow furrowed a little. "Then what weapon do you usually use?"

"I… don't really use any," she said, twiddling her fingers. In the heavy silence that followed, she scrambled to explain, "It's just… weapons are scary! I don't like them. And I don't want to kill or hurt anyone! S-so…"

Kankuro would have probably asked what she thought she was doing, training to become a shinobi, with an attitude like that, but Gaara only frowned a little. "Weapons are…" he began, pausing to gather his thoughts, "...not just for hurting others. Weapons can protect too." He nodded to himself. "I am a weapon, but I will protect my… friend and this village."

He glanced uncertainly at Matsuri, who was staring at him with wide eyes. "O-oh!" she stammered. "Yes! That's… what I'd like too." They shared a smile, though Gaara's was only a faint twitch of the lips. "That's why I wanted to train with Gaara-sama," Matsuri confided. "All the instructors said that, if you want to defeat an opponent without killing them, you need to be much stronger than they are. And Gaara-sama is the strongest, so…"

There was something not quite right about her logic, but Gaara didn't comment on that either. "...To start with, we'll go over your basics," he decided. "And then we can work on some traps with ninja wire, for binding."

"Yes, Gaara-sempai!" Matsuri saluted enthusiastically.

'That'll give me time to ask someone what else I should do,' Gaara thought, his expression showing none of his uncertainty. 'What does teaching someone even entail…?'

He probably should have thought of that beforehand, but being friends with Naruto and learning from him had to have some downsides too.

/~/~

Clinging to the wall, Kankuro glanced around warily. There was probably no reason to act so suspicious - he wasn't technically doing anything wrong. The inner complex wasn't off-limits, as such. Every shinobi of Hidden Sand was free to go there. It was just that none ever did.

...Except for the two retired shinobi who spent all their time there. They had claimed the place as theirs, and no one dared to bother the "honored siblings" - possibly out of fear for their lives.

Narrowing his eyes, Kankuro studied the two hunched elderly figures sitting beside the meditation pool. One of them had what looked like a fishing pole and line extended into the water, which was both disrespectful of the rare commodity that was water in a desert and completely pointless since there were definitely no fish in the decorative pool.

"Sister," the old man called in a low voice, "you haven't moved in a while. Are you still alive?"

There was no reply from the old woman across from him.

"Sister, did you die…?" the old man wondered.

The old woman burst out laughing, making both her brother and Kankuro jump in surprise. "I fooled ya!" she cackled. "I'm just playing dead. And it seems I got one extra in my joke this time. What did you think of my prank, boy?"

She turned to look straight at Kankuro, who reluctantly abandoned his hiding place and approached the two elders.

"It was very well timed, Chiyo-obaasama," Kankuro said, trying to keep the dry sarcasm out of his tone. "Even Ebizo-ojiisama was surprised."

"Peh, that old idiot is always surprised, no matter how many times I do it," Chiyo said dismissively. "So what did you come here for, boy? You're a puppeteer, aren't you? Were you hoping for some special advice from the master? Well, too bad! I ain't training some wet behind the ears brat!"

Chiyo began to cackle again, quickly wearing down Kankuro's nerves. "That's not what I came for!" he snapped, quickly adding, "...though I and everyone in the village have the greatest respect for your prodigious skills, Chiyo-obaasama." His obvious struggle to control himself made Chiyo snicker. "What I came to speak with you about," Kankuro stubbornly forged on, "was the upcoming operation - the joint invasion of Hidden Leaf, together with Hidden Sound."

"I ain't participating either," Chiyo waved him away. "These bones are too old to go running around in the field."

Ebizo nodded. "We've withdrawn from the affairs of the village," he agreed. "Our time has passed. It's up to the new generation now."

"I don't want you to participate. I want you to help stop it," Kankuro said, frowning. "We'll be starting a war! You know better than anyone how terrible the wars have been, how much damage they caused the village. If you spoke out against the invasion, the council and even the Kazekage would reconsider. Please!"

He bowed deeply, keeping his head down even as the silence stretched on.

Even before Chiyo spoke, he knew his request had failed.

"We told you, boy, we've retired. If that fool of a Kage wants to take the village to war, that's his choice," Chiyo said, losing her earlier humor. "And what do I care? If anything I'm glad those Leaf bastards will get what's coming to them."

"So you're just going to abandon the village?! Don't you care at all anymore?!" Kankuro burst out.

"That's right. I don't care about anything," Chiyo snapped, pointedly turning back to her fishing pole. "If there's anything left that I want… it's just to see my grandson's face one more time."

"If that's all you want, then go find your missing-nin of a grandson," Kankuro shot back. "Didn't you hear? He abandoned this village! Just like you!"

He knew immediately that he had gone too far. Chiyo's hand twitched, and Kankuro suddenly found his own arm moving. His hand snapped up, holding one of his kunai to his jugular.

"Watch your mouth!" Chiyo commanded. "Do you know how many impudent brats I've killed for less?"

Every self-preservation instinct he had was screaming at Kankuro to just shut up, to apologize and get away as quickly as possible. He should have never come there in the first place…

But he came for a reason.

"Yeah, and just think how many you'll be killing by doing nothing at all," Kankuro said.

"Chiyo!" Ebizo called out, just as his sister's fingers twitched. Fortunately for Kankuro, it was enough.

She clicked her tongue, but the chakra strings that had been manipulating Kankuro released, and he was able to quickly move the kunai away from his neck. "Get out of here," Chiyo ordered, "before I stop caring whether you're that impudent Kazekage's son."

Kankuro was all too happy to obey, quickly turning on his heel and hurrying away. But for some reason, he only made it a few steps before hesitating.

"Your grandson… Sasori of the Red Sand. He was a great puppeteer," Kankuro said quietly. "I really admire his work. But he's gone now. No one knows where he is or if he's even alive. Our village is still here. We're all still here. Doesn't that count for something?"

Chiyo was silent.

"I heard your son was killed in the Second War, and Sasori disappeared during the Third," Kankuro pressed on. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing anyone can do about that. All we can do is stop it from happening to anyone else. I just… I just want to protect my family - my sister, my brother. Can't you understand that?"

He waited for a reply, but receiving none, Kankuro sighed and began to walk away once more.

Once his footsteps faded away, Ebizo turned to look at his sister. "Are you sure, Chiyo? Maybe we could humor the boy."

"Hmph. If we do that, the next generation will never learn to solve their own problems," Chiyo said. "And like I told him, there's nothing left for me in this village anymore."

'I just want to protect my family...'

Clicking her tongue irritably, she ignored the words echoing in her mind.

/~/~

"Baki-sensei," Gaara said - politely, or so he thought - appearing in a swirl of sand.

Baki and the councilor he had been speaking to both jumped, badly startled, and turned to stare at him. Recovering quickly, Baki just sighed, but the other councilor remained tense, edging away and reaching for his hidden weapons. It was one thing to hear that Gaara was no longer a walking explosive tag, but it was much harder to believe.

"What do you need, Gaara?" Baki asked. He knew that, with the boy's straight forward personality, he wouldn't have come without a reason.

"The trainee I'm mentoring, Matsuri, and I want to find a way to use weapons to protect, without killing or hurting," Gaara said, completely serious.

Baki closed his eyes. Kankuro would have surely said something about naivety, and even Naruto hadn't managed to come up with something so preposterous yet, but Baki knew better than to laugh or berate Gaara. "...I see," he said instead, thinking carefully. "In that case, you'll want to study methods of binding. You can start training her with something like a rope or sash. Practice the movements with your sand. It should have the same principle."

Gaara listened attentively, his expression intent and thoughtful. "I see. Thank you, Baki-sensei," he said.

"I-In our village, Cloth Binding is the most common and effective, but it might be too difficult for a trainee," the other councilor added nervously. "You can drop by their school and ask for some… tips." In another situation, a shinobi would have been berated for such ridiculous goals - a weapon that doesn't kill or harm? - but with Gaara, controlled and not murderous could only be a step up.

"Thank you," Gaara repeated. "...Sorry for intruding."

'He learned a new one,' Baki thought, as Gaara departed as quickly as he had come.

"That's a new one," the other councilor said, shaking his head. "He really is acting quite differently. To turn Shukaku's jinchuriki around is an impressive feat, Baki."

Being able to boast such an accomplishment might have given Baki's words more weight, but he corrected the other man, "It wasn't my doing. The other genin on my team, who tagged along on our missions… He changed Gaara's outlook and mindset. In the end, I couldn't do anything. None of us could."

He looked out across the panorama of the village at sunset. The pale domes were dyed red, almost as if bloodstained, and the shadows were a deep black. It was fitting. A shinobi village was always build on blood and darkness. That was the way they had always done things, the only way they knew.

"None of us were able to do anything," Baki repeated. "All we did was create burdens that we're forcing on the next generation. I don't want to add to that burden further. If war breaks out… those kids are the ones who are going to suffer the most. And aren't we trying to save the village for their sake in the first place?"

The other councilor was silent for several moments, before finally sighing. "You got me," he said, smiling wryly. "For the future generation…"

/~/~

The next day, Matsuri found herself suddenly, unexpectedly popular. The other trainees crowded around her, many with expressions of concern.

"Are you okay?" Sari asked, grabbing Matsuri's hands in her own.

"What happened? With… you know," Yukata added, pushing the other girl aside.

Both were popular - pretty and strong - and had never spoken to Matsuri before except to make fun of her. "You mean Gaara-sempai?" Matsuri asked, feeling rather lost. "Well, he had me go through everything, to see what my level was, and then we practiced making wire traps…"

Given the unsatisfied expressions on the faces of the two girls and the other trainees, that wasn't what they wanted to hear about.

"I mean, did he… do anything to you?" Sari's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Did he turn into a demon? Did he use his sand?" Yukata insisted, more loudly.

Matsuri frowned, a look that immediately made the crowd around her stare in surprise. "Gaara-sempai isn't like that!" she said sharply. "He's very nice and thoughtful! He's a great mentor!"

Huffing angrily, she pushed past them and stalked onto the training field.

"Wow," Sari muttered, "I didn't know she had it in her."

"Yeah. That wallflower?" Yukata added, shaking her head. "She must really like him."

They exchanged a look, then giggled, blushing a little. 'Really, really like him!'

/~/~

"This is stupid. Why do I have to do this?" Kankuro muttered to himself, trudging after Gaara with a sullen look.

He had meant it as a rhetorical question - more of what Naruto called his whining - but Gaara heard him and said over his shoulder, "Because Matsuri needs a sparring partner, and my sand shield moves automatically. It's unhelpful. You can just use your puppet, so you don't have to put in much effort."

Kankuro narrowed his eyes in an annoyed glare. He was pretty sure Gaara understood perfectly well that he didn't want an explanation and was making fun of him.

"Gaara-sempai! And you must be Kankuro-san. Thank you very much for helping with my training," Matsuri greeted them, bowing deeply.

"He doesn't mind," Gaara declared before Kankuro could say anything. He expertly ignored Kankuro's dirty look.

"At least she's cute," Kankuro muttered under his breath. "Figures you'd get a cute one. No justice in this world…"

Gaara looked at him blankly, and it suddenly occurred to Kankuro to wonder who would have given him 'that' talk, if anyone ever did.

Kankuro was not a brave man, as evidenced by the fact that he immediately mentally dumped that particular problem on Baki. He would be sure to bring it up next time he saw the man. It was either that, or leave it to Naruto.

/~/~

Gaara had approached mentoring Matsuri in nonlethal binding with a methodical determination. As suggested, he had tracked down a specialist in the Cloth Binding jutsu - a young chunin named Maki, who had startled to be approached, but managed to not show the same sort of blind fear that most shinobi had toward Gaara - who confirmed that manipulating cloth with chakra was a high-level technique, well beyond Matsuri's current skill.

However, Maki agreed to show him some of the movements involved, which Gaara dutifully replicated with his sand. She also suggested having Matsuri start practicing.

"Something like a rope or a chain," she said thoughtfully. "They're heavier, so you don't need to constantly run chakra through them to use them as weapons, but you can still do that to get a feel for it."

Given Matsuri's rather lacking upper body strength, Gaara decided - after dutifully thanking Maki - that a rope would be best. He went through the common armory, drawing bewildered stares from the staff there as well, and chose a johyo - a rope dart.

It was a good choice, as Matsuri quickly proved by tangling up all of Karasu's limbs, tipping the puppet over and leaving it to roll around helplessly. Kankuro muttered something about that being useless against a puppeteer, but since he was supposed to be pretending that Karasu was just a normal shinobi for Matsuri to practice on, he couldn't exactly detach its parts and send them flying autonomously either.

When Matsuri turned to him excitedly, Gaara seemed to remember to praise her. His tone was rather stiff, but the girl didn't notice.

Starting from the second day of their training, what seemed like half the village had dropped by to check on Matsuri and Gaara. First, it was Matsuri's fellow trainees. Then, some of the chunin from the armory and others they had gossiped with. Then, a couple of instructors, after Matsuri started showing off what she was learning. Then, a couple of council members, who heard from Baki. Then, about two-fifth of the village population, who heard about it through the grapevine.

Then, Chiyo.

If anyone had noticed, Chiyo would have denied all interest in any snot-nosed brat, kicked the unfortunate witness in the shin and run off cackling. However, Chiyo was still far too good to get spotted when she didn't want to be seen, and she was able to observe the trio in peace.

Peace - what a thought. They were really were, all three of them, brats born to peace. Even Gaara, who was created as a weapon, who had become the last remnant of another era, had not been put through the rigors of war, and when he patiently, somewhat perplexedly tried to figure out how bind instead of break, his expression was too soft for anything but a child of peacetime.

It was all foolishness. They were all fools.

But sometimes, Chiyo would get lost in her thoughts, and her gaze would grow unfocused. Then, that shock of red hair looked nostalgically familiar, combined with that dancing puppet. Karasu had been one of Sasori's - Sasori who had inherited his father's and grandfather's red hair.

Sasori, who had lost his parents in the Second War to the Leaf's White Fang. That wound had never healed. In that, Chiyo had been unable to do anything for her grandson, and despite being their most promising young shinobi, he had abandoned the village early in the Third War.

She had never been able to do anything for Sasori. That was why she hadn't even tried to chase after him - not even out of loyalty to their village, but the belief that it would change nothing. Kankuro had been right, in a way. Chiyo didn't care about the village anymore, not the way she used to. There was nothing left for her in Sand, except her brother, who had become just as old and shriveled as she.

'I just want to protect my family. Can't you understand that?'

"I couldn't even protect my own family," Chiyo said quietly to herself. "How am I supposed to help you protect yours?"

Down on the training field, Matsuri had tangled Karasu again, but she misjudged her follow up pull and swing, sending the puppet flying toward Gaara by accident. Gaara didn't even bat an eyelash, as his sand automatically reacted to protect him. Kankuro was the one who screeched angrily, complaining about his puppet getting banged up and sand in its joints. Matsuri apologized profusely, backed up by Gaara's flat, unimpressed stare.

The only thing she had ever been able to do for even Sasori was teach him her art…

'I just want to protect my family.'

Chiyo's mouth twisted into an annoyed scowl. "Fine!" she hissed to no one in particular. "Fine then! But just this once!"

'Let's see if you can succeed where I failed, boy,' she thought, with one last glance at the children running around the training ground.

/~/~

When the council reconvened, following an urgent, sealed message from the Kazekage, the atmosphere had shifted. There was tension, but also grim determination in the air - as if before a hard, slogging but unavoidable, vital war campaign. Except that the war, Baki was sure, would be against their own leader, a guerrilla one at that.

"Your students are doing well for themselves," one of the other councilors commented as they took their seats. "You're quite a talented teacher. First Temari catching the daimyo's attention, now Kankuro apprenticing under Chiyo-sama… The other two seem to be well also."

"Apprenticing" was not a word Kankuro would have agreed with - Chiyo had used her chakra strings to drag him, shrieking, out of bed one morning, dumped him a manure pile and then declared that he was late for their lesson. Kankuro insisted that he had never been told of any lesson and that the old woman was the devil incarnate.

But "apprenticing" was what the village grapevine had gotten out of the situation, and it had raised Kankuro's - and subsequently Baki's - standing quite a bit. The council had been trying to convince Chiyo to pass on her skills for years, decades even, so they were quite eager to see the training continue.

Last Baki had heard, Kankuro was alternating between moaning in pain from Chiyo's sadistic methods and threatening to poison himself just to get away from her.

It was an especially stark contrast to Gaara's calm and patient demeanor as a trainee mentor - which had drawn almost as much attention, if in a more understated way.

"Yes, they have all been successful in their own ways," Baki said vaguely. He just hoped Naruto had been successful in his own mission.

"Then, let's begin. I will now unseal the missive," an elder councilor announced, holding up the message scroll. He flipped through a long series of hand seals, which were required to unlock the scroll, before finally carefully unrolling it.

The message inside was penned in sharp, curt strokes. The Kazekage had not wasted words either. "Returning shortly. Chunin Exams to be held in Hidden Sand."

/~/~

**Q&A:**

Actually, I don't have any questions to answer.

/~/~


	8. Chunin Exams 1

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 8:** Chunin Exams ~ Straight Ahead (part 1)

**Notes:** Finally, next arc! It's also the last arc, haha.

/~/~

Sarutobi - Third Hokage of Hidden Leaf Village - moved with deliberate care as he pulled out his worn pipe, filled it with his favorite tobacco and used a small application of fire-natured chakra to light it. Then, he took a deep drag of the pipe and slowly breathed out. Smoke wafted toward the ceiling leisurely, unconcerned with the tense atmosphere in the Hokage's private office.

The other five shinobi present - Kakashi and Jiraiya, to report on their impressions, and the elders Danzo, Homura and Koharu, to give their counsel - waited patiently as the Hokage went through the motions, almost like a ritual.

"So Orochimaru has finally resurfaced," Homura said pensively, letting out a heavy sigh.

"It was bound to happen," Koharu said, with asperity. "At least he didn't actually invade. To think he even organized his own hidden village…" She shook her head, more in frustration than disbelief.

"Yes, we were fortunate to receive forewarning of his actions," Danzo agreed, in a tone that indicated how displeased he was with relying on fortune - and how little he thought of that warning. "But was it necessary to concede hosting the Chunin Exams to Hidden Sand? We should have proceeded. It would have been a good opportunity to lay a trap for him."

"Even Orochimaru is not arrogant enough to go ahead with his invasion plans after Hidden Sand pulled out, especially since he could easily guess that the Kazekage would inform us," Sarutobi said. "He wouldn't have taken the bait, even if we had still hosted the exams. And it was a good way to show our appreciation to Hidden Sand for informing us."

"Not that they had much choice, given that they had to have the great Jiraiya rescue them," Jiraiya grumbled.

"Why didn't you pursue Orochimaru?" Danzo asked, turning his demanding one-eyed glare on the Sannin.

Jiraiya glared back. "If he wanted to have it out with me, he would have fought me long before. I can guarantee that he ran as soon as he realized I was nearby. And I was a little more concerned with, you know, protecting the Kazekage than going through the endless cannon fodder experiments Orochimaru would leave behind to cover his escape."

"Jiraiya's choice was correct," Koharu said, cutting off the brewing argument. "But we should take this opportunity to act. We have allowed Orochimaru to do as he pleases for too long. With his plan for the Chunin Exams foiled, he'll be off balance too. This is our chance."

The others looked away as Sarutobi's hand clenched around his pipe. Even Danzo managed to refrain from making any comments - about how, if only Sarutobi had dealt with Orochimaru ten years prior, none of this would be necessary. Danzo didn't need to say anything, not when Sarutobi was already thinking it himself. His rogue student had always been a point of weakness and self-recrimination for him.

"Yes, but the Hokage is right," Homura said. "Orochimaru will not act now that his plan has been foiled."

"Then we need something to draw him in," Danzo judged. His gaze shifted to Kakashi, who had remained silent until then. "According to your report, his subordinates expressed a special interest in the Uchiha boy. Most likely, it is for his Sharingan. Orochimaru has long held a fascination with bloodlines and with mastering all jutsu. If the Uchiha boy were to enter the Chunin Exams in Sand, away from the village and vulnerable, that would be an irresistible opportunity for Orochimaru to get close to him..."

"With all due respect," Kakashi began, his tone sharp, "using Sasuke like that is irresponsible. He's only a genin. The risk of that kind of operation is too high."

'Using a child as bait, as expected of the Darkness of Shinobi,' Kakashi thought bitterly, barely keeping himself from tensing as if for battle.

"He is a shinobi. It is an honor to serve the village," Danzo replied. "His sacrifice will help us deal with a grave threat." He didn't even try to hide little chance there was that Sasuke would make it through such an operation unscathed. It never ended well for the bait.

"I would rather no one is sacrificed, especially a child," Sarutobi said. The steel behind his mild tone made Danzo pull back.

"Same here, sensei, but as much as I hate to say it, he's got a point," Jiraiya spoke up. "It's our best bet for finally catching Orochimaru. Otherwise, he'll go to ground again. I've tried to pull up everything I have on Hidden Sound, his supposed village, but it's all just rumors."

"If we don't clear this up, the boy will be in danger too," Koharu pointed out. "We can't keep a guard on him constantly, waiting for Orochimaru to strike. He'll just remain a target. At least this way we can arrange protection for him."

"Sand will cooperate too," Homura added. "Orochimaru tried to dupe them and kill their leader. This much we can count on."

Silence settled over the room as Sarutobi contemplated the situation. Any missing-nin allowed to roam free was a sign of weakness for their old village - someone of Orochimaru's caliber even more so. Furthermore, Orochimaru himself held a deep grudge against the Leaf. With this new information, the lengths he was willing to go to and the true extent of the danger he posed were more apparent than ever.

Danzo and Jiraiya were right. They couldn't let this chance to deal with Orochimaru slip by.

"We will carry out this operation," Sarutobi decided finally. He looked across the shinobi before him as he gave the verdict. "Sasuke will attend the upcoming Chunin Exams in Hidden Sand. But," he said to forestall Kakashi's protests, "we will make every effort to ensure his safety and Orochimaru's capture… or death."

"Hokage-sama, I would like Sasuke to be informed of the circumstances," Kakashi said quickly. Otherwise, he suspected Danzo would attempt to send the genin in blind, with some excuse like making sure his reactions were authentic or so that Sasuke couldn't give anything away.

After a moment of consideration, Sarutobi nodded.

"He'll need two more for a team," Homura pointed out.

"And we'll need to send at least one other squad," Koharu added, "or it'll look suspicious to everyone, not just Orochimaru."

"Not to mention, who's going to face him?" Jiraiya said.

In the privacy of his own mind, Sarutobi sighed wearily. None of those questions, he knew, were going to be easily answered.

/~/~

It was several days later that the preparations were finally complete on their end.

"You've informed Sasuke?" Sarutobi asked Kakashi. They were alone in his office now, and the old man had shed his formal robes and hat for much plainer attire.

Kakashi's mouth quirked. "Yes," he said, with a sigh, "he's quite... excited."

Given the boy's stoic and brooding demeanor since his clan's distraction, Kakashi was stretching the truth somewhat - Sasuke's reaction was better described as grim anticipation. No doubt, to him, this was a stepping stone on the path to his ambition, a way to measure how far he had come. That kind of obsessive focus worried Kakshi more than anything. It often made Sasuke blind to common sense and self-preservation, not to mention good judgement of his opponent.

"Regarding my team," Kakashi went on quickly, not wanting to hear the Hokage's attempts at consolation, "that Sai boy... He's one of Danzo's, I take it."

"Most likely," Sarutobi sighed. "Root was officially disbanded after the Uchiha massacre, but the members remain very loyal to Danzo, especially those he trained from a young age. Danzo offered a second for the team as well… but to be frank, I don't trust his men around Sasuke. Watch them both, Kakashi."

The jonin nodded. "So then the Hyuga girl, Hinata… She's insurance. I suppose even Danzo will hesitate to move against the Hyuga clan head's daughter."

"I informed her father of the true nature of this mission," Sarutobi said, hiding a wince at Kakashi's blunt assessment. Even though he felt it was necessary, using children in such a way did not sit well with him. "She was one of those that failed her jonin instructor's test and was sent back to her clan for remedial training. Her father felt… this is a good opportunity. If the mission is a success, she has the chance to prove herself to him and the clan, or if Orochimaru does not appear, then she might make chunin instead…"

Those were, of course, just the platitude he told himself. And Hiashi's words regarding his daughter had been a great deal more dismissive. "Perhaps she can finally be of some use to the village," he had said without much faith or interest.

"Her cousin is on the other team," Sarutobi added. "If worst comes to worst, he might be able to protect her. The most dangerous part will be immediately after Orochimaru appears, most likely during the second exam. He'll choose an isolated location, so it will be hard for reinforcements to reach our team. Make sure they understand - their greatest goal is staying alive."

Kakashi nodded sharply. "Yes, Hokage-sama. I won't fail."

/~/~

News of the sudden change in the semi-annual Chunin Exams' location was important enough to draw the daimyo to Hidden Sand once more. That suited Temari, who had naturally traveled with him to the village as part of his guard, just fine. Released from her duties temporarily while the daimyo met with the council and Kazekage, she quickly stalked off to find some answers - and she knew just who to ask.

Kankuro was too busy trying to dodge an assault by five puppets - Chiyo felt he didn't deserve more than one hand's worth of effort - to tell her anything, but Gaara explained in calm, even tones about everything that had occurred.

The answers left Temari too stunned to even realize that this was the first full conversation she had held with her youngest brother for years.

"I can't believe it. He really did it? " she muttered, shaking her head. Regaining a little of her composure, she added, "Hmph, that brat must have some ridiculous luck. Unbelievable!"

"I don't know the details," Gaara said, frowning faintly. "I haven't seen him since he returned. I only know what happened from the Kazekage's report."

His look clearly conveyed what he wanted. Temari sighed. "Fine, fine," she said. "I'll check on him." She had to wonder why Gaara himself didn't do it, but then realized that - given how little experience Gaara had interacting with people, period, much less helping a friend with something - he probably wouldn't even know what to do when he found Naruto.

His worry was kind of cute anyway.

To her surprise, when she found Naruto sitting atop one of the large domes overlooking the village, he appeared to be… sulking. There was no better word for it, except maybe "brooding," but that seemed entirely too heavy for the cheerful idiot she had helped train.

"I heard about what happened," Temari said, plopping down next to him. "That's some nice… luck."

That startled a snort or maybe a chuckle out of Naruto. But a moment later, his expression lost all humor and he slumped again. "Yeah… I got really lucky," he said, and sighed heavily, burying his head in his arms.

The uncharacteristic gloom in his tone made Temari stare in surprise.

However, Naruto went on before she could muster a response - truthfully, he wanted to talk to someone. "I got really lucky, you know? That's all it was," he said, frowning miserably. "I didn't think it through at all. Sure, I found Orochimaru like I planned, but I didn't think about what would happen then. I just… decided I'd figure it out when I got there."

"Just finding someone like one of the Sannin is impressive in its own way," Temari said neutrally. "Anyway, I don't understand why you're freaking out now, of all times. It's not like you haven't charged in without a plan before. In fact, I don't remember you ever having a plan, for anything."

Naruto glared. "This is different! I almost got the Kazekage killed!" he hissed. "The Kazekage! And if it hadn't been him, if he'd just sent someone else with me or if I'd gone by myself… Sure, I would've found out that Orochimaru was going to betray us anyway, but I wouldn't have even been able to take the news back! I knew from the start that I didn't have any idea what to do when I confronted him, but…"

He buried his head in his arms again, groaning.

"Before, I always just charged in," Naruto muttered without looking up, "but it turned out okay because I knew Gaara or Baki-sensei would back me up. Was I expecting Kaze-san to do it this time? I don't even know. I just ended up dragging him into danger. What would happen to the village if he died?" He groaned again, curling up into a ball of misery.

Rolling her eyes, Temari whacked him across the back of the head. "Enough with the self-pity," she said, when Naruto glared at her, teary-eyed. "You messed up. You're right - you're an idiot who talks big but can't back it up." Her expression softened a little. "But the way you always charge straight ahead… it's not all bad. It's… done pretty good stuff for us, for the village. You just need to actually think things through, instead of hoping it'll work out somehow."

"Yeah. Yeah, I need to do that," Naruto agreed, some of the tension in his shoulders finally relaxing. "And I need to get stronger, so I don't just always count on someone else to bail me out." 'So I don't end up being the one who has to always be protected,' he thought, remembering the way Gaara and Kaze both had to focus on shielding him, whenever there was a real battle.

"That too," Temari agreed, a smile already tugging at her lips. She knew what was coming next.

"Temari-sempai!" Naruto exclaimed, turning toward her and groveling. "Please train me!"

"Okay," Temari agreed, smirking. "But this time, the kid gloves are off. We've got about two weeks, and you're going to be chunin-level when I'm through with you. Got it?"

To punctuate her point, she slammed one end of her battle fan into the rooftop in front of Naruto's nose. Suddenly, he could feel himself breaking out in cold sweat. Naruto might have bitten off a little more than he could chew...

/~/~

Naruto groaned weakly, face down in the dirt. Temari felt rather like groaning herself.

"Okay, so we definitely know you're not a precision type," she said, exercising every bit of patience she had learned, serving the rather obnoxious daimyo.

Lacking in precision was putting it mildly. That was something of a problem, since most high level wind-style ninjutsu operated on the premise of fine, invisible blades that could be manipulated to attack from any direction. The emphasis was on "fine" blades, and Naruto, while perfectly capable of molding wind chakra, was falling quite a bit short of the sort of honed edge that anything above a C-rank jutsu required.

"Can't you just teach me something big and powerful?" Naruto whined, turning onto his back. "Not this fiddly stuff! Something you can't miss with! Like Kamaitachi, but stronger!"

Scowling, Temari kicked him in the side. "Do you even get the point of Kamaitachi? You're supposed to use it to attack your opponent from the direction they can't see coming. From the side? From behind? It doesn't matter, Kamaitachi can do it. Even if they run, it'll still hit them as long as they're in range. That's how it's suppose to work! It might look random, but that's just to confuse the opponent! It's a precision technique too."

Naruto shot her a dirty look. He had never really been able to direct where Kamaitachi cut, and thinking back on it, he wasn't even sure he ever hit Orochimaru and his underling.

"I just want something really powerful," Naruto complained, rubbing his side. "Sure-kill, you know? And something that's easy to hit with and hard to dodge. Wide-range." He spread his arms to demonstrate.

"If you can't even figure out how to direct the cutting edge of your wind, you're never going to hit anything," Temari said flatly. "You haven't been able to properly hit the target even once, you dunce."

She gestured in frustration to the two boulders they had been using for target practice. One, Temari's, had two clean cuts intersecting in the center, forming an X. The other, Naruto's, was haphazardly scratched up, with nicks randomly along its side and one gash along the top. Not a single wind blade had landed anywhere near the center.

It wasn't even that his aim was bad, per se, Temari despaired a little. It was just that all higher level wind style techniques were in created by two opposing winds colliding and honing each other. Naruto couldn't control the opposing forces well enough, so his jutsu became unbalanced, lost their edge and went wild.

"Well, what about something like Reppusho? But, you know, stronger and actually dangerous," Naruto said instead, refusing to give up.

"It's because Reppusho is weak and doesn't have a cutting edge that it affects such a wide area," Temari insisted. "Sure, you can make the wind stronger, but it's never going to be above a C-rank. Maybe a B, if the user is very high-class. Which you're not."

"Whatever! Then I'm just going to have to make my own technique!" Naruto insisted, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Oh really?" Temari muttered. "I'd like to see you try…"

"Then I will," Naruto declared. 'So what if there's things I can do? I'll just work from what I can do!'

His eyes narrowed, and he clapped his hands together once more.

/~/~

Gaara made his way onto the training field with an uncharacteristic uncertainty. Holding a paper bag in his arms - like all those years ago - he hesitated for a moment before forging his way onward.

A wild gale tore across the training field, and Gaara's sand automatically rose to protect him, obscuring his vision. He could feel several small rocks hit the shield and practically disintegrate under the force of the impact. As the winds died away as suddenly as they had appeared, Gaara frowned and narrowed his eyes to peer through the dust that had been kicked up.

As the dust cleared, he could see Naruto sway and plop down on the cracked earth. With a heavy sigh, Naruto let himself collapse onto his back, just lying spread-eagle. It took several minutes for his heavy breathing to slow, but when Naruto finally opened his eyes, he caught sight of Gaara and waved, upside down.

"Yo, Gaara! Did you come to see the cool jutsu I've come up with?" Naruto asked, grinning. The scratches on his face and the weary edge to his smile showed how hard he had been training.

Gaara shook his head and, kneeling next to Naruto, held out the paper bag. "I… brought lunch," he said.

"More like dinner, isn't it? It's pretty late," Naruto commented, but he accepted the package and the steamed buns inside. "But thanks. I really worked up an appetite with all this training."

As Naruto bit into one of the steamed buns, tearing off a chunk and practically swallowing it whole, Gaara explained quietly, "We have our new orders. We'll be entering the Chunin Exams here in Sand, and we are to observe one of the two teams sent from Leaf. They have reason to believe that team may be targeted by Orochimaru."

Finishing off the last bun, Naruto wiped a hand across his mouth. "Great," he said, grinning wide enough to bare his canines. "This'll be a good chance to pay him and his minions back. This time'll be different."

He looked over his shoulder, and Gaara followed his gaze. To one side, a single boulder bore two clean cuts in the shape of an X. Next to it, there was a small scattering of rough stones, surrounded by upturned earth - all that remained of another boulder, reduced to nothing but rubble.

/~/~

**Q&A:**

**Temari got promoted because she mentored Naruto?** Yes, kinda. Naruto was very star-struck by her wind ninjutsu, so Temari might have, well, started showing off and finding fancier ways of using her jutsus, without really meaning to. When she did that at the chunin exams, the Wind daimyo - a rather shallow type - was impressed and specifically asked after her. Since the council and Kazekage want to get on his good side, they promoted her and sent her on an ongoing mission to serve the damiyo.

Temari actually hates it, because it's boring and requires a lot of patience in dealing with petty, annoying nobles, but it's for the good of the village.

**How does the mentoring system work?** Hidden Sand has more shinobi than missions. They also want to raise the quality of their shinobi as much as possible. So they encourage everyone who doesn't get work regularly to "mentor" trainees or even new genin - basically teaching without any pay. The ones who mentor are usually lower level shinobi, chunin or even older genin, but they can provide individual attention, which helps.

**Is Naruto able to use seals at all?** It's a mixed bag. Naruto knows surprising amounts of theory regarding seals, but he's absolutely terrible at applying any of it. Storage seals are about the most he can accomplish. He also doesn't have any real interest in it.

**Can Gaara learn taijutsu?** Theoretically. He can practice the movements. But he can't actually spar with anyone. And any attack that actually get through his sand shield and armor will probably be beyond his taijutsu skills.

/~/~


	9. Chunin Exams 2

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 9:** Chunin Exams ~ First Round (part 2)

**Notes: **Eh. My excuse is that this entire exam was thrown together at the last minute. That's why it's so questionable. Really, it's not because I'm terrible at planning or anything.

/~/~

The gathering place for the chunin hopefuls that had been chosen to attend the exams in Hidden Sand was an open plaza deep in the village. With the desert sun mercilessly beating down on them, those that had arrived early were deeply regretting it and even those that there were only just arriving, with bare minutes to spare, were already panting and slick with sweat.

Last to arrive, a team from Hidden Leaf, was not exempt. Sasuke, in the lead of the three genin, gave no outward sign of his discomfort, but the red flush across his face and neck, either sunburn or overheating, said it all. The even paler boy on his left was smiling blandly, but his short dark hair was completely plastered to his head with sweat, and the girl on his right, bringing up last, was struggling for breath - her heavy jacket was probably half the problem.

All three of them easily accepted the cups of water handed to them by a Sand kunoichi standing at the plaza entrance. "Welcome to the Chunin Exam first round," she said brightly. "We'll begin shortly."

Kakashi's temporary team made their way into the courtyard cautiously, eyeing the gathered foreign shinobi with an eye out for competition. The Sand teams dominated, naturally, and they were easy to spot, since they were the only ones unaffected by the heat - a subtle way of undercutting the competition?

It seemed an unnecessary measure. Attendance from other villages was low; it seemed many had been unsettled by the sudden change in location. There were only a couple teams each from the smaller villages, plus the two teams from Hidden Leaf. Still, Sasuke eyed the genin around them with suspicion. Somewhere among the sparse crowd, there was the single team from Hidden Sound - Orochimaru's team.

A single genin made his way toward them. Despite the leaf on his headband, none of the three relaxed.

"You took your time," Neji noted coldly as he drew up next to Sasuke's team. "The exams are about to begin. Try not to embarrass our village any further." His eyes lingered on the girl - his cousin, Hinata.

Sasuke sneered in return, but Hinata seemed to curl inward, biting her lip. "You watch yourself first, before you start sticking your nose into our business," Sasuke bit back. 'You don't even know what's really at stake,' he thought derisively. The other Hidden Leaf team in the exams - Gai's team - had been left in the dark regarding the secret operation. The fewer knew, the better, it was decided.

"Yo, Sasuke!" Naruto's loud voice cut off any comeback Neji might have made. The blond pushed his way past the few milling genin between them, grinning.

Gaara trailed after Naruto, and Tenten and Kankuro appeared a moment later, having broken off their quiet conversation.

"So this is your team?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the redhead and the puppeteer with interest.

"Yup, these guys are my teammates," Naruto said happily. "And this is my hometown. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Cool is the opposite of how I would describe it," Sasuke said, scowling a little as he took a sip of the water. "How much longer are we going to have to stand out here, baking?"

"Don't be like that, Sasuke-kun!" the last member of Gai's team exclaimed, making his way over to the other Leaf genin - upside down. Lee had been spending his time walking laps around the courtyard, on his hands, and he had finally completed the 100th lap. "This is a wonderful opportunity to go to our limits and beyond!"

Flipping back right side up, Lee posed and made a thumbs-up.

"Lee, this isn't the time for that," Tenten sighed, facepalming. "Save your strength for the exam, you know?"

As Team Gai dissolved into their usual arguments and disagreements - Neji letting off a scornful remark, Lee insistently denying it, Tenten trying to be the voice of reason - Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a look and a nod. They and their teammates knew there was much more at stake than a promotion or even honoring their village.

Having fallen back into Sasuke's shadow, his two teammates were silent.

Looking over the plaza from the roof of one of the buildings, one of the Hidden Sand proctors made a hand sign to the head examiner. Everything was set; it was time to begin.

"Everyone! May I have your attention please!" a tall man called out, standing at the edge of the roof and waving to the genin assembled below. "We will now begin the Chunin Exams! I am Yura, the head proctor for the first round. To start with, let me thank all of you for coming here, despite the short notice. We will make every effort to ensure your time in Hidden Sand is well-spent."

Several shinobi in the crowd muttered something derogatory regarding the efforts so far, but Yura ignored them, continuing to smile. 'They're having a councilor proctor? Not taking any chances...' Kankuro thought.

"I realize the heat has been a difficult for some of you, but I know everyone has enjoyed a taste of the beverages provided," Yura went on. "That's good. Well, not for you. After all, that water was unfortunately poisoned."

There was a moment of silence, then...

"WHAT?!"

Several - many - voices joined together in protest, including Naruto, Lee and Tenten. "I knew that goatee was suspicious!" Naruto hissed, pointing at the proctor accusingly.

"You realize he's one of ours, right?" Kankuro muttered under his breath.

"The symptoms should begin shortly," Yura continued meanwhile, utterly unruffled by the angry yelling from below. "This is the task of our first round - determine the nature of your condition and find where treatment can be obtained within the village. You have until sunset. That's about the time when you'll probably start passing out."

"What the hell?! That's taking favoritism too far! You're tilting it totally in your favor!" one of the Hidden Waterfall genin protested. "You're the poison specialists!"

"Hey, we're not all poison guys! I don't know anything about this either!" a Sand genin yelled in return.

"Remember, this is a team test, so all of you need to get treatment," Yuura said. "Any method is acceptable, but if you are caught breaking the village laws or disturbing the peace, our shinobi have the right to detain you. Best of luck to all of you!"

He waved with a smile, then stepped away from the edge, vanishing from sight despite the continued protests of the genin.

"Come on, let's get going," Kankuro said quietly, his voice almost drowned out by the shouting around them. Holding up his own half-full cup, he added, "I want to analyze this somewhere a bit quieter."

"Is this really going to be okay?" Naruto asked, hurrying after him as Kankuro made his way out of the plaza.

"You get what the point is, right? It's information gathering. Most of them will wait until the symptoms start up, but it'll probably be pretty easy to tell from there," Kankuro said, shrugging. "They can ask around the village, or check the library, or go to a clinic. Since it's just a test for genin, I doubt it's going to be all that hard…"

Naruto hummed thoughtfully, squinting his eyes shut and tilting his head. "Well, I guess that's fine," he decided finally. Beaming, he slapped Kankuro's back. "Just think, this is your big chance to actually do something useful!"

"Screw you, you brat!" Kankuro shot back, elbowing Naruto in the side.

Even as he cringed away, laughing, Naruto threw one last glance over his shoulder. 'I hope those guys'll be able to figure it out,' he thought. 'I wonder what those symptoms or whatever are about. I don't feel different at all...'

/~/~

Sasuke watched Naruto and his team slip away, and turned to follow their example. "Come on," he told his temporary teammates. As they moved out onto the streets, he asked, "Do either of you feel anything? What are the symptoms?"

"Uh… um," Hinata stammered. "It's n-not something you feel. Um, Sasuke, your tongue…"

That seeming non-sequitur made Sasuke stop in his tracks and turn to stare at her. Blushing and fidgeting, Hinata slowly stuck out her tongue, enough for the two boys to see that it was beginning to turn bright orange.

"...That's definitely a unique symptom," Sasuke noted dryly. "It's a start. We can ask around to see if anyone in the village knows what causes it. I doubt it'll be as easy as checking into a clinic, but…"

"There's no need for that," the last member of their team spoke up. "I recognize this symptom. This is Vulture's Folly - a sickness that is caused by drinking water from certain springs in Land of Wind, which have been polluted with a rare mineral. There are not many cases because the stones around the springs will also be colored in the same shade, which is enough to caution most against drinking the water. Other symptoms include lightheadedness, hallucinations, severe diarrhea, and sometimes vomiting."

Despite the unhappy picture he was painting, he continued to smile blandly. The expression had remained fixed since he had introduced himself just before the team left Leaf Village - Sai, he had said he was called. Despite being in their age group, neither Hinata nor Sasuke remembered ever seeing him before.

"And? What is the treatment?" Sasuke asked, unimpressed.

"I don't know," Sai admitted without an ounce of hesitation or shame. "You see, the symptoms pass after a week, even without treatment, and are unpleasant, but not fatal. And this is a very rare sickness, no doubt why it was chosen. Not many genin would have heard of it."

'But you have,' Sasuke thought, frowning faintly. 'Then again, you're not an ordinary genin, are you? You're probably not a genin at all.'

"We can't wait for it to pass," Sasuke said shortly. "We need to find out the treatment. We have a headstart since we know the cause, but we still need to gather information. We'll split up and meet in… three hours back here. That should be before any of the more severe symptoms kick in. Let's go."

Neither of his teammates disagreed.

/~/~

"I don't get it, they're not doing anything," Naruto complained, narrowing his eyes as he glared at the three "genin" of the Hidden Sound team. Next to him, Kankuro frowned but had to agree.

It was late afternoon, the shadows having grown long across the village, but the Sound team had yet to make any move except to slowly relocate to keep in the shade. All three of them had moved to opposite ends of the plaza where the first round had been announced and not spoken to each other even once in all the time Naruto, Kankuro and Gaara had been observing them.

"Are they just planning to give up and fail?" Naruto muttered dubiously. "Or do they already know what to do?"

"That can't be right. The only thing I can think of… is they're planning to just follow all the other teams who figure it out," Kankuro said. "There is only one place to go, after all. It's a bit of a blindspot in the exam, but… you'd have to guess who to follow, and if you waited to see where the passing teams gather, it's going to be late and you're going to be feeling the more severe symptoms."

"What symptoms? I still don't feel anything," Naruto said.

"That's because you're a weirdo, and Gaara too," Kankuro said. "And I'm a puppeteer. Having a high resistance to poisons and such is part of the job. Normally, you'd be barely able to see straight by this point, and you'd be too busy with stuff coming out of either end to be sneaky."

"But those guys aren't reacting at all either," Naruto pointed out.

"...Well, they're from Hidden Sound. They're not normal either, I guess," Kankuro admitted.

"I can tell that just by looking at them," Naruto grumbled.

He was right. It was obvious - one of the two males on the team had six arms, the other seemed to have two heads, though one was slumped motionlessly over his back. Only the girl looked normal, though her hair was almost as red as Gaara's.

"If they're just going to sit around, there's no point in watching them," Naruto decided.

"Idiot, we can't just go off because you're bored!" Kankuro scolded.

"Whatever! You agree, right, Gaara?" Naruto said, and they both turned to their other teammate.

Gaara hadn't moved in at least two hours, leaning against the wall in the shade, arms crossed, eyes closed. He didn't respond, and after a few moments, they realized he had simply dozed off.

Exchanging a look, Naruto and Kankuro sighed.

/~/~

"Yes, coming!" a voice called out from within the small domed dwelling Team Kakashi had finally been directed to. The door opened to reveal a young woman in Sand's customary robes and poncho. Her eyes darted up to Sasuke's headband - he had been the one to knock - but her expression showed no surprise.

This was the right place, he judged.

"We're here regarding Vulture's Folly. We were told this is the place to ask for treatment," he said, watching as recognition passed across the woman's face at the name of the illness.

"You're in the right place," she said, smiling - in congratulations. "You're right, we're the only one to bother with rare desert illnesses like that. But the master doesn't accept patients until sundown. You can wait in the yard, and I'll get you something for the symptoms."

Her kind gaze lingered on Hinata, who was slumped across Sasuke's back. She had collapsed shortly after the team reunited, from a combination of the heat and the more severe symptoms setting in. Sasuke was feeling lightheaded himself, and his vision was blurring, but he had stubbornly hauled her onto his back and carried her to their destination - a small clinic on the outskirts, which dealt in traditional medicines.

Sai, who carried Hinata's thick coat, looked annoyingly unbothered, despite being paler than Sasuke and dressed in all black.

'There's no way he's really a genin,' Sasuke thought, rather spitefully, as they moved around to the side of the building, into the small walled yard. A team from Sand was already there, sitting in the shade of a small tree, but they were the only ones.

Using the side door, the healer's assistant returned with a tray of three small bowls. "This will help with the symptoms, but it's not a cure," she explained. "You'll have to wait for the master to return."

Sasuke nodded in thanks, and the three Leaf genin moved to claim a stone bench for themselves. Hinata raised her head weakly as Sasuke set her down on the bench, but she still needed help with holding the wooden bowl and bringing it to her mouth.

The lightly herb-scented mixture seemed to revive her a little, and she breathed easier. Sasuke considered his own bowl, contemplating whether to give it to the girl, until Hinata lightly touched his arm and shook her head.

"Please, drink it," she said quietly. "There's no telling what the next round will be like."

After downing the mixture, there was nothing to do but wait, none of the three inclined to start conversation - Hinata withdrawing into herself the way Sasuke remembered her doing back in Academy, Sai pulling out a sketchbook after taking a seat next to her, her jacket between them, Sasuke content to simply lean against a wall nearby and occupy himself with his thoughts.

'We're in the right place,' Sasuke thought. 'This is the answer all of us got. And we were told to find where treatment can be obtained, not to actually get treated. The time limit was until sunset, when this herbalist master will start accepting patient. Most likely, some announcement will be made then, and if you miss it, you won't be able to advance.'

That reasoning made sense to him.

Several more teams trickled in as the afternoon moved toward evening, a few from Sand, the team from Hidden Rain, both of the Hidden Grass teams, and eventually the other Leaf team as well. Despite arriving as the sun was drawing close to the horizon, Team Gai was in impressively good shape, Lee even still trying to perform some self-imposed punishment for being so late.

But to Sasuke's surprise, there was no sign of Naruto's team - or the Sound team.

'There's no way he would have just dropped out,' Sasuke thought. 'This kind of exam gives Sand teams a massive advantage. He can't possibly not have found the answer, he did fine gathering information in Land of the Sea. So did he run into some kind of difficulty? Did it have anything to do with…?'

Both the teams arrived just as the sun was setting, neither appearing any worse for wear. Naruto caught Sasuke's gaze as they filed into the side yard, and subtly shook his head. No sign of Orochimaru. Well, that was only to be expected. The exam was only beginning.

The healer's assistant followed after the two teams, having already given them their dozes, and shut the gate into the yard. "Thank you for coming, everyone," she called out. "The master will arrive shortly to see everyone in need of treatment. But… I think we all know what you're here for, yes?"

She held up one hand in a simple seal, and in a puff of smoke, the young woman became Yura, smiling blandly at the gathered genin. He was met with a great number of scowls and glares, especially from those that had proven more susceptible to the poison. Several were still covering their mouths, looking faintly green, or holding their stomachs.

Overall, the already small number of attendees had been reduced more than by half.

The clinic's side door opened, and a tattooed man in a wide-brimmed hat stepped out, his expression of someone who had only just woken up. "Huh? What's with all this?" he drawled, yawning. "Look, how many times do I have to tell you kids, I ain't selling you anything to help you in the sack! I ain't that kind of medicine man."

"Master, this is the Chunin Exam first round," Yura reminded him.

"Oh, that's today?" the medicine mused, scratching at his stubble. "Right, so what was wrong with the lot of them? Sunburn?"

"Poisoning," Yura corrected.

The medicine man shook his head reprovingly, as if it was their own fault. "And the symptoms?"

The collected genin stuck out their tongues, glaring.

"Ah, Vulture's Folly," the herbalist said. "You don't see that often. You know it'll pass after a week, right? Hmm, I suppose I can see why you wouldn't want to put up with a week of having it come out both ends while confessing to your first crush… Well, too bad for you, but the only cure is made from Jofuku flowers, and I've got none of those."

"What?!" a chorus of complaints rose up.

"Yeah, I ran out last week, and I haven't gotten around to gathering more," the medicine man said, unperturbed.

Yura stepped up again. "I'm sure they'll be happy to bring you some. That should be an easy task for a team on the chunin level, wouldn't you say?"

"I suppose. I'll need one per person," the herbalist said, shrugging. "Jofuku flowers only grow at one oasis southwest of the village. I have a map you can look at before you go. It's about a day's travel. Of course, that way's all desert, so I wouldn't recommend traveling in the middle of the day. ...Not that it's any better at night. That's when all the nasty, venomous things come out to hunt."

"There you have it," Yura said. "Completing that mission is the second round of the exam. Very simple, wouldn't you say? The mixture I gave you will wear off within one day. After that, it's going to get very difficult. If you don't make it back by sunset three days from now, we're going to assume you've died." Which was a very real possibility, out in the desert. "By the way, I'll be proctoring this round too."

No one looked particularly happy to hear that. There was some quiet grumbling.

"Um, I have a question!" a girl with a Grass headband called out, raising her hand. When the medicine man gestured toward her, she continued. "What does this flower look like? Are there any special conditions for gathering or transporting it?"

Those were good questions, though Kankuro knew the answers already. A team was sent to gather some flowers for the village common stock regularly. Though he'd never been part of it himself, he had studied the plant, along with most others that grew around the village.

There were other questions after too, but several of the teams were not paying much attention.

'A retrieval and survival mission,' Sasuke thought. 'Out in the desert… there won't be much oversight. I see… That'll be the best time for him to strike.'

'We'll have to be ready,' Naruto thought. 'This is where it really starts… the true test.'

/~/~

**Q&A:**

**Who's Yura?** He's actually the guy who got brainwashed by Sasori to be a spy. But he was a sleeper agent, so most of the time he was honestly loyal to Hidden Sand. He's also a council member.

**Gaara can't sleep!** Kushina adjusted his seal a little in exchange for Naruto being allowed to join Hidden Sand. So he can sleep without consequences. He just doesn't do it often, out of habit.

/~/~


	10. Chunin Exams 3

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 10:** Chunin Exams ~ Second Round (part 3)

**Notes:** Hmmm... It was at this point that I realized I had made certain mistakes in my outline. Heheh...

/~/~

As the genin teams that were moving on to the second round dispersed from the clinic - some to gather supplies, some to rest up before setting out, some heading out immediately - Sasuke shared a quick look with Naruto, receiving a short nod in return, and turned to his teammates.

"We'll set out immediately. There's no point in waiting, and the symptoms will probably start returning soon," he told Said. Then, to Hinata, "You can head back to the inn. There's no need for you to come any further."

Hinata's eyes widened, in surprise… and fear.

This was an important mission that had been entrusted to her by the clan. This was her chance to prove herself more than a complete failure, to finally do something to bring honor to the Hyuuga, her father had said. But what had she accomplished so far? Just filling up the third space?

If she returned like this… If she failed this one last chance…

"I disagree," Sai spoke up, drawing startled looks from both his teammates. This was the first time he expressed any opinion. "Splitting up the team will create suspicion. And alone, Hinata-san might be targeted by other teams. It would be best to stay together."

Sasuke frowned, considering his words. He hadn't meant to be unkind to Hinata. If anything, he thought she would be safer back in the village. He wasn't sure he trusted Sai's reasoning either, not when Kakashi had cautioned him to watch Sai carefully.

"Please!" Hinata burst out, finally gathering her courage. She dipped her head in a low bow. "Please, Sasuke-kun! I want to help with this mission! I will do my best not to slow you down. Please let me come..."

"Fine," Sasuke said quickly. He had never quite figured out how to deal with girls and their feelings. "Let's just go."

Preoccupied, none of them paid much attention to the three genin watching them.

"So that's your cousin? She's… really different from you," Tenten commented quietly, as Sasuke's team quickly departed from the herbalist's house. She, Neji and Lee had hung back, following Neji's lead in observing the other Leaf team.

"Hinata-sama is weak. And because of that, her team is weak," Neji stated coldly.

Tenten sighed. "So I'm guessing you won't agree to team up with them?" she said. That was what she had planned to suggest.

"Hmph. There's no reason to burden ourselves with those fated to lose," Neji declared. But his eyes still lingered on the direction his cousin had gone.

/~/~

"Are you going to be okay traveling like that?" Naruto asked, eyeing Gaara - who had covered one eye to use his Third Eye jutsu to follow Sasuke and his team.

"It's fine," Gaara said calmly. This was the best way of keeping track of the others, while still remaining at a distance.

Remembering how easily his own technique had been spotted by Orochimaru, the Kazekage had taken the last few days to drill Gaara in keeping the Third Eye more inconspicuous, though it might have been a lost cause. The best they could hope for was that Orochimaru would disregard their tail and make a move on Sasuke anyway.

More memorable to Gaara was the strange way his father kept looking at him while they trained. It was… thoughtful and considering. The Kazekage's entire demeanor had been subtly different from their previous training sessions, almost uncertain, as if he didn't know quite how to approach Gaara. That in turn had made Gaara uncertain as well, and the two often ended up lapsing into uncomfortable silence. It was the single most awkward thing Gaara had ever experienced, impressive given Gaara's usual lack of social awareness.

"I hope that snake guy appears soon, or the symptoms are gonna come back. I can't believe they actually poisoned us!" Naruto complained distractedly. "I mean, I didn't even notice, but everyone else wasn't doing so well…"

"Don't worry about that," Kankuro said, his tone clipped with tension. "The stuff the proctor gave us wasn't just a temporary treatment, like for the others. It was the real cure. I recognize that after taste from the Jofuku flowers. That Leaf team probably got the same."

"Huh," Naruto let out, momentarily caught by surprise. He supposed he should have considered that. This entire thing was controlled by their village, after all. Except out here, in the desert, where anything could happen.

Out here, it was up to them.

/~/~

A sharp, shrill scream had brought the proctors running. The scene they found was both gruesome and unsettling - a young kunoichi having stumbled upon three bloody corpses in one of the village's back alleys.

The girl, the same Grass kunoichi who had spoken up at the announcement of the second round, had been sent by her teammates to find the other team from their village. They had wanted to link up, to increase their chances of passing and put on a good showing for their smaller village. Instead, she found their corpses, mangled and missing the faces.

"She says the other team took off right after you announced the start of the second round," a proctor reported to Yura. Unlike the older genin, the girl's team had hesitated for a good while longer, before finally deciding on a plan. "But that's all she knows. They separated right after arriving yesterday, and no one on her team spoke to them since then."

"...Do we have a record of this team setting out?" Yura asked, his expression carefully controlled. His subordinates whispered quickly among themselves, then one of them nodded hesitantly. Yura blew out a heavy breath. "Notify the Kazekage immediately," he said quietly. "It seems we have three impostors on the loose in the desert."

/~/~

An underground river had once flowed between the village and the oasis that was the destination of the second round. However, as the water dried up, the ground above it cracked and splintered. Numerous narrow canyons opened up over the dried up underground riverbed, crisscrossing in an elaborate maze.

It was through that maze the genin teams in the second round of the Chunin Exams had to pass to reach the oasis, unless they wanted to risk a very wide detour over the surface. It was also the perfect place for an ambush.

There was almost guaranteed to be one, hopefully not from some over-enthusiastic genin team, but from Orochimaru's group, to separate them from Sasuke. Thus, Gaara was taking point in their formation, given that he alone knew where to go and he had the best defenses, while Naruto and Kankuro followed just behind.

The shadows were even deeper in the faint moonlight, to the point that Naruto could barely keep himself from stumbling as he leaped almost totally blind across the rocky canyon floor. With their footsteps all but silent, only the sound of the wind was left to echo eerily between the tall, often sheer rock walls.

In the night's almost unnatural stillness, it took Naruto a long moment to realize that it wasn't his eyes playing tricks on him and that the rock walls in front of them had begun to tilt sideways.

The cliffs were collapsing, stones raining down toward the three man team.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled, momentarily caught between forcing his way forward and retreating from the danger.

His eyes snapping toward the avalanche, Gaara gestured sharply. Sand surged forward, engulfing the falling rocks and sweeping them away harmlessly.

But that wasn't their enemy's only attempt to stop their advance. A thick-set figure leaped off the remaining cliff, plummeting straight toward Gaara. With most of his sand having been dispersed to counter the rockslide, Gaara's shield was slow to react and much thinner. It domed inward visibly under the force of his enemy's full-body attack, which was almost strong enough to break through.

"Reppusho!" Naruto yelled, clapping his hands together.

A powerful blast of wind slammed into their attacked, tossing him away from Gaara. Finally, they were able to get a clear look at the ambusher - a large man in a crude mask. The small tag trailing from him wide-brimmed hat read "Punishment" three times.

'Huh? Who is that guy?' Naruto thought, completely blanking.

'That's… one of the Grass genin, if I remember right,' Kankuro thought. 'But is he attacking us on his own or...'

Their opponent regained his bearings easily, flipping to land on a tall stone spire in the middle of the canyon. "You won't go any further, you trash," he snarled in a deep, rumbling voice. It sounded familiar to Naruto. Slamming his hands down onto the stone under his feet, the stranger barked, "Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!"

Panels of rock snapped out of the canyon walls on either side and, connecting to the stone spire, formed a towering wall in front of the Sand team.

"Like that's going to stop us!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the man. "You… fatso!"

The stranger twitched. "You'll be eating those words," he hissed, though the mask hid his glare and scowl, which turned into a sneering smirk. "That's not the last of it…"

"Sawarabi no Mai." It was a different, softer voice that announced the next attack.

Countless gleaming white bones burst from the canyon walls, aiming to skewer the three Sand genin. Cursing, Kankuro - who had hung back after retreating from the initial rockslide - managed to escape just out of range, but Naruto reacted in the opposite direction, darting to Gaara's side, as the sand shield quickly rose to protect them both.

Kankuro glanced from the bone spikes, almost completely filling the canyon in front of him, to the second enemy figure that had appeared atop the canyon wall - slighter than the first, but otherwise unremarkable, with a tag that instead read "Sin" thrice.

"Looks like there's just one left," their first enemy mocked, reaching up to rip the mask off his face. But as he pulled, the bald skin of his head was dragged off as well, revealing the earth style user who had lost to Kakashi in the Land of the Sea - Jirobo.

His partner did the same, tossing aside his wide-brimmed hat to reveal Kimimaro's fine features.

Catching a glimpse of the skin fluttering beneath the discarded hat, Kankuro made a face. 'Orochimaru's men, huh? So that's how they were able to sneak in - they literally wore the faces of those Grass-nins,' he thought. But despite the malevolent attention turning toward him, Kankuro just smirked.

"I wouldn't count those two out yet," he said.

It was as if his words were a cue.

The sideways forest of bones suddenly and violently exploded, the white spines shattering and their fragments flung picked up by a powerful wind. As the winds died down, Naruto's smirking figure was revealed in the center of the chaos, Gaara watching from safely behind him, the remains of his sand shield scattered around them.

Naruto turned, clapping his hands together once more, and another impossibly strong tornado roared to life, aiming for Jirobo. The cutting winds that made up the tornado all but shredded another path through the bone barricade and then the rock walls.

Jirobo had been forced to flee his perch in the center of the canyon, as it too collapsed under the wind jutsu's power, and in the moment when Naruto abruptly canceled his technique - the debris still hanging in the air and only slowly beginning to fall - the path onward was open.

"Gaara, go! Leave these two to us!" Naruto yelled.

Gaara didn't hesitate. This was what something they had to do, as shinobi of the Sand. They each had their own duty. He dashed past, before either of Orochimaru's henchmen could stop him, and disappeared down the twisting canyon.

Snarling, Jirobo - being closer - tried to pursue, but a powerful gust of wind slammed into his back and sent him almost crashing into a rock wall.

"You won't go any further, you fatso," Naruto parroted Jirobo's earlier words. "We'll be your opponents!"

"Don't just volunteer me," Kankuro complained under his breath. He twitched a little as Kimimaro turned his cold gaze onto the puppeteer.

"Very well. I will deal with this one. Finish the other quickly, Jirobo," Kimimaro instructed. "We will not allow anything to interfere with Orochimaru-sama's wishes."

Two narrow bone swords slipping out of his sleeves and into his hands, Kimimaro lunged down at his target. Cursing, Kankuro turned tail and ran.

/~/~

Left alone, Jirobo and Naruto stared each other down for several long moments. Finally, Orochimaru's subordinate sneered. Drawing back his fist, he pushed off the wall he had been clinging to and flung himself at Naruto.

Naruto jumped back just enough to avoid the attack and the shockwave that would follow from something of that force. But Jirobo had predicted that. Instead of slamming his fist into the ground, he twisted to land firmly on his feet. Instead, his hands both touched the ground, sending chakra through the rock.

"Doton Kekkai: Doro Domu!" he announced, as stone rose up in a circle around Naruto.

The Earth Dome Prison was a jutsu designed to be almost inescapable - anyone trapped inside would have their chakra continually drained and used to repair any damage they might cause to the dome. Jirobo was quite proud of it, as his cocky smirk showed.

But like all barrier techniques, it relied on one thing: trapping the victim inside.

The walls of the dome formed almost instantly near Jirobo, which was also the point closest to Naruto, and the diameter of the circle should have been too great for him to be able to make it there in time to escape… with his own speed, that is.

Naruto had instinctively begun to step back, and he gestured sharply, almost as if yanking a line toward himself. A sharp gust of wind slammed into his chest, sending him flying - straight through the narrowing, closing gap in the back of the rock dome.

He had practiced this maneuver as well - it was useful - and this time managed to recover from his short flight by using another, weaker gust of wind to hit him from the back, counting his reverse momentum. Flipping, Naruto landed on his feet, his hands already coming together to clap once more.

"Eat this! My original jutsu!" he yelled, before his voice was lost in the roar of the wind.

All higher level wind style ninjutsu functioned by creating two simultaneous wind currents that, when they came together, created a thin, cutting edge between them. Naruto, being unable to control his chakra finely enough to maintain that edge, decided to simply power through regardless.

So what if he couldn't cut something precisely? All he needed to do was shred it, cut it so many times that it wouldn't matter if he hadn't hit the center the first time or the fifth.

When the two massive opposing winds he had created collided, instead of cancelling each other out, they created a wild vortex that expanded violently. The half-constructed dome was torn apart stone by stone, along with the rock beneath it, and all the debris was dragged into the roaring tornado, where it was further crushed into gravel and dust.

This time, Jirobo wasn't fast enough, having been still in the middle of his own jutsu. He only had time for a short curse before he too was pulled into the wind vortex. Cuts appeared all across his body, even as he brought up his arms to shield his head and face and struggled to endure the onslaught.

Finally, the jutsu cut off, and everything that had been dragged into the vortex - rocks, dust and enemy shinobi - began to fall.

Snapping his arms open, Jirobo revealed his face, and the triangle markings that had begun to crawl across his body.

"Like that's going to be enough!" he yelled, baring his teeth in the parody of a grin. "You trash-!"

But before he could do more than draw back his fist, about to attack, Naruto darted forward, bringing his own fist into Jirobo's gut. "Futon: Senpuken," Naruto declared, and a whirlwind burst out of his punch - sending Jirobo flying into the canyon wall behind him, hard enough to leave an imprint.

Orochimaru's underling didn't move again, his head lolling forward in unconsciousness.

"Heh. I'm thinking of calling it Uzumaki no Jutsu," Naruto said, straightening. "Pretty cool, right?"

There was no response, of course, and Naruto's amusement faded quickly. They were still in the middle of a vital mission, and there was no time to fool around. 'We've got to catch up to Gaara,' he thought.

Glancing around, Naruto sighed. "Stupid Kankuro. Of course he ran back the other way…"

/~/~

Unlike Naruto, Kankuro had no intention of trying to muscle his way past. There was no point, as far as he could see. Even if he caught up with Gaara, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the third member of the imposter Grass team was actually Orochimaru, and there was nothing Kankuro would be able to contribute to that. Even Gaara wasn't supposed to win, just protect Orochimaru's target, Sasuke, from the Sannin.

So why try to rush over? Stalling one of Orochimaru's subordinates was enough of a contribution for Kankuro.

Besides, it didn't look like his chances were all that good. It was about all he could do to stay ahead of Kimimaro's pursuit and avoid the bone projectiles being furled at his back with frightening precision. The narrow canyon favored him, fortunately, slowing Kimimaro's pursuit and giving Kankuro plenty of cover.

On the other hand, he still didn't have any chance to properly use Karasu. There was simply no time to pull ahead enough to do it, or to set up a good ambush. Kankuro resorted to simply tossing a kunai behind him occasionally, all of which Kimimaro dodged nimbly or deflected with his own bone weapons.

In the end, Kankuro's luck had to run out - and he found himself facing a dead end, boxed in by sheer walls on three sides. As Kankuro turned, sighing to himself, Kimimaro arrived to block the last route of escape.

"There's nowhere left to run," Kimimaro said, advancing slowly.

"We'll see," Kankuro said, and threw down a smoke bomb.

'A smokescreen? No, it must be poison gas,' Kimimaro thought, instinctively holding his breath. 'But I won't go down so easily...'

However, Kankuro didn't try to run. Kimimaro was right - he wouldn't be able to escape. Shinobi did not rely on sight alone; if Kankuro tried to climb the cliffs, he'd leave himself completely open.

He didn't try. Instead, Kankuro put on his most shit-eating smirk and taunted, "It doesn't matter if you catch me. Your pathetic snake of a master is going down. He never had a chance. What was he even thinking, trying to go against one of the five great villages? He's nothing but a washed-out has-been idiot!"

His only warning was the furious hiss as Kimimaro drew a sharp, angry breath. Then, the Kaguya attacked.

Kimimaro's bone sword plunged into Kankuro's torso, homing in using the sound of his voice. But a moment later, Kimimaro realized that something was wrong - a thin layer of sand peeled away, as "Kankuro's" head spun around in a complete circle, its jaw dropping completely open and its eyes rolling back.

The bandages that had been tightly wrapped around the bundle Kankuro had been carrying burst open, and Kankuro himself jumped away. Chakra strings trailed from his fingers to the puppet that had been posing as him. A twitch of his fingers, and Karasu's snapped around, hidden daggers emerging.

Kimimaro jumped back quickly, but one blade still managed to graze him. Even his cool expression showed a hint of chagrin - he knew he had made a mistake by getting riled up and breathing in some of Kankuro's poison. Letting the no doubt poisoned dagger graze him was another mistake. The amount was miniscule in both cases, but all good puppeteers coordinated their poisons to cause them to exacerbate each other's effects.

Against a puppeteer, a long, drawn-out battle was almost a sure loss.

Kimimaro had no intention of allowing the battle to be drawn out any longer. With the smoke beginning to clear, he could make out both Karasu and Kankuro attempting to hide behind it. He charged, bones sprouting across his arms and chest, but just as he approached Karasu, Kimimaro pivoted around the puppet and lunged for Kankuro instead.

Releasing the strings of one hand, Kankuro quickly attached a string to Kimimaro's foot instead - and yanked sharply. Unlike Chiyo, Kankuro was still too inexperienced to use a human as a puppet, but it was enough to pull Kimimaro off-balance and throw off his attack.

Kimimaro spun gracefully even as he fell, and five finger bullets shot out from one hand, almost point blank. Kankuro's smirk quickly morphed into a split-second expression of fear.

But before the projectiles could connect, a violent wind swept away the bones and the remaining smoke.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Kankuro jumped away, Karasu following. Kimimaro regained his feet almost immediately, but he did not pursue, straightening slowly and looking up with narrowed eyes at Naruto, who stood atop the canyon wall.

"Where is Jirobo?" Kimimaro asked.

Naruto gave a self satisfied smile. "Oh, I took care of him," he boasted. "Now, we're going to to deal with you, and then it's just your boss left."

"I should have killed you on that island," Kimimaro stated, with the faintest trace of frustration. "I won't allow you to interfere with Orochimaru-sama's wishes. I'll end it here."

'And how do you plan to do that? The odds are in our favor,' Kankuro had been about to say, but the words died in his mouth.

Markings like fire spread across Kimimaro's skin and even hair. As his pale complexion became a dark grey, Kimimaro hunched over, in pain, or ecstasy. Bone spikes burst out of his back, ripping his shirt, and when Kimimaro threw his head back with a roar, a long lizard-like tail hit the ground heavily.

"You have no chance, against Orochimaru-sama's power," he growled.

Massive bones wrapped around his arm to form a drill-like weapon, as Kimimaro lunged for Kankuro - this time, he was willing to go straight through Karasu to get to its master. Kimimaro's lance slowed, if only barely, as it plowed through the puppet, and Kankuro quickly retreated, cursing all the while.

But Karasu wouldn't go down so easily. Even with its torso torn to shreds, the puppet was able to release a flurry of kunai at Kimimaro. He would have been able to dodge, but a clap and a gust of wind from Naruto thrust the kunai forward faster than he expected, and several grazed his limbs.

'...He's slowing down,' Kankuro realized, as he pulled Karasu's remains back to his side.

Kimimaro realized the same thing, his face contorting. He could feel the ache building in his chest and lungs, and he had to struggle to hold back a cough fit. 'I won't fail Orochimaru-sama,' Kimimaro swore to himself. 'I will take out all obstacles in his way...'

His gaze snapped up to focus on Naruto, and Kimimaro jumped toward the Sand-nin standing high above. It looked like a foolhardy move, leaving him open to attack, but Naruto easily took the bait, preparing to strike with a wind jutsu as Kimimaro approached. Instead, Kimimaro reached back over his shoulder with his free hand. A long chain of bones - his spine - popped out, forming a whip that he pulled free and swung forward.

The added reach caught Naruto by surprise, the whip wrapping around his legs and yanking his feet out from under him. He toppled with a yelp, just as Kimimaro reached him, bone spear drawn back to stab.

"It's over!" Kimimaro yelled, bringing his weapon down on his helpless opponent.

But his cry of victory was cut off by a wet, pained gurgle. Craning his head back, he tried to catch sight of the dagger that had been plunged between his shoulder blades - part of Karasu's arm, independently manipulated by Kankuro while Kimimaro's attention was distracted.

Crashing to the ground next to Naruto, Kimimaro struggled to get up again. That level of injury shouldn't have been enough to stop him, but… He couldn't breathe, and as he coughed desperately, blood began to dribble from his mouth. His bone constructs broke apart, and the Cursed Seal state reversed, his skin and hair fading to white again.

Kankuro and Naruto watched, one suspiciously, one in stunned surprise. Kimimaro reached out one blood-stained hand toward Naruto, fingers grasping as if to wrap around his throat, but as the poisons took full effect, his eyes dulled and he collapsed bonelessly, like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

Kicking his legs free of the bone whip, Naruto carefully crawled up to Kimimaro's sprawled body and nudged him. There was no response.

"It acted faster than I thought…" Kankuro muttered, jumping up to land next to them and already wrapping up Karasu's damaged form. "Well, he should be out for a good while, with all those in him."

"...Yeah," Naruto agreed. He stood, dusting himself off. "Let's go. Gaara's waiting."

/~/~

Orochimaru watched from a high perch as Sasuke's team approached. His eyes passed quickly over the Hyuga girl trailing behind the other two - such an impressive bloodline was wasted on that meek little thing - and lingered only a moment longer on the pale boy keeping to Sasuke's left.

The markings of a Root agent were easy to recognize, and the boy was almost certain to be more powerful than he appeared, but Orochimaru didn't concern himself. He knew Danzo, and he was certain he knew what the old warhawk would have ordered his subordinate to do. There was no threat there, especially not to one of the Sannin.

In fact, despite knowing that this was certainly a trap, Orochimaru felt no unease or worry. If anything, he was looking forward to what was to come. He fully intended to show Hidden Sand and the Kazekage what happened to those that thought they could turn against Orochimaru's will. He would enjoy this little bit of payback.

But that would come after. For now, Orochimaru had an even more delicious prey in his sights. He licked his lips as he studied Sasuke, leading his team down the twisting canyon, toward his inevitable fate.

An Uchiha - the Sharingan. The dojutsu capable of seeing through and copying any technique. It was a terrible shame that only two sets remained in the world. Naturally, Orochimaru couldn't let the opportunity to claim one pass him by. With the Sharingan, his research would advance to new heights!

But not every Sharingan was equal. That was why Orochimaru would first need to test the boy's potential… and then leave his mark.

Sasuke's eyes darted to Orochimaru as the Sannin's borrowed form landed gracefully in the genins' path. They backpedalled immediately, all jumping away from him and warily settling into defensive stances. Orochimaru smirked.

"My, my, what do we have here?" he drawled. "A trio of little rats…"

His eyebrows rose as Sasuke asked point-blank, "Are you Orochimaru?"

'So they were told? Surprising,' Orochimaru thought. 'I would have expected them to be sent in blind to the slaughter.' "And if I am?" he asked, amused.

"What do you want with me?" Sasuke took the acknowledgement for what it was.

His bluntness was charming, Orochimaru thought. "Your eyes," Orochimaru replied, equally bluntly. His long tongue flicked out as Sasuke's Sharingan instinctively activated, the single tomoe circling the pupil.

"Then come and get them!" Sasuke taunted.

So young, so foolish. So ready to be killed.

It would be so easy. They were all so weak, even the Root boy. Orochimaru could imagine it perfectly - hunting them down, ripping them apart, and finally, an executioner's blow straight in the center of their cute little heads...

With a sick smile, he projected that very image - so that even the children trying to face him would know the truth of it. His bloodlust overwhelmed them. Hinata collapsed with a soft whimper, and though Sai's face remained expressionless, his eyes grew painfully wide and cold sweat rolled down his face.

Between them, Sasuke was left utterly paralyzed and trembling, unable to move even as Orochimaru landed gracefully in front of him.

"Hmm, is that all? You're quite a disappointment, compared to your brother…" Orochimaru drew out, running his hand over Sasuke's cheek in the parody of a caress. Looking into a Sharingan should have been the height of foolishness, but he was certain this child wouldn't be able to ensnare him in a genjutsu.

Orochimaru's words were enough to make Sasuke flinch. His lips drew back in a snarl, even as he struggled against the paralyzing effects of Orochimaru's bloodlust.

'My… brother? That man...' Sasuke thought. 'That man… I'm nothing compared to him? I can't compare to him? No! Everything… everything has been… so that I can kill him!'

The kunai in his hand flashed. But the one Sasuke stabbed wasn't the man in front of him - it was himself.

The sharp sudden pain in his thigh cut through the lingering paralysis, and Sasuke immediately formed a handseal. 'Gokakyu no Jutsu!' he thought, his chest puffing out as he took a deep breath.

Orochimaru only smile in the face of the massive fireball Sasuke breathed out, making no move to evade. Sasuke's hadn't expected it to affect him - the light and fire was just a distraction to let him gain a little distance.

'Don't hesitate, don't waste time being scared!' Sasuke shouted at himself. 'You knew this was going to happen! You agreed to this mission, even though you knew he's too strong to fight! Stick to the plan! Buy as much time as you can…'

This was, he thought distantly, the same as with Orochimaru's underling. First, he had to fight to prove he was strong enough to be worth letting him live. Because he couldn't afford to die here, not before he killed that man.

Unnoticed, a second tomoe formed within each crimson eye.

/~/~

Besides their Sharingan, the Uchiha clan was - had been - famous for their shuriken-jutsu and their fire-style jutsus. Sasuke put on a magnificent display of both. Nothing that could truly amaze or even surprise Orochimaru, of course, but worthy of a passing grade.

The last of Sasuke's fire jutsu lit up the canyon walls, before fading away. But despite taking the brunt of it head on, Orochimaru only chuckled, slipping through the burning wires with inhuman ease, and reached up to peel off the burnt, no longer needed skin mask to reveal his true face.

"Yes," Orochimaru mused, "you will do just fine. Now, come. I will give you a taste of true power."

Sasuke tensed and might have tried to flee, but Orochimaru was much, much faster. His neck elongated, his head shooting out with thin fangs bared.

In the instance before he bit down, Orochimaru knew something had gone wrong. Then, there was the taste of something that was not blood in his mouth, before the "Sasuke" whose neck he had attacked burst into a cloud of black ink.

Orochimaru sighed internally. He had gotten too excited and made a rookie mistake. Using the brief moment when the flare of Sasuke's fire jutsu had blinded him, Sasuke had been replaced by a solid clone. Orochimaru's own distraction and reveal had also helped. Of course, now that he noticed, it was easy to find the culprit - Sai, crouching beside Sasuke in the shadow of a boulder.

"Choju Giga!" the Root agent exclaimed, one hand in a hand seal, the other holding a brush poised over a scroll.

An ink and chakra beast burst out of the scroll, lunging for Orochimaru, but the Sannin only batted it aside. Even Sai's usually expressionless face twitched - in fear or frustration at his jutsu being so easily overcome - but he had no time to attempt anything else as Orochimaru advanced on the two boys again.

"Good try," Orochimaru praised facetiously. "But playtime is over."

Sasuke shoved his teammate down just in time to avoid the serpent that shot out from Orochimaru's sleeve, aiming for Sai's head.

Looking up, he met Orochimaru's gaze and smirked.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's over."

Sand surged between them.

Reinforcements had arrived.

/~/~

**Q&A:**

**Why did you cut Sasuke's fight with Orochimaru?** Honestly, I was getting tired of writing. Also, I always planned it to be pretty similar to what happened in the Forest of Death anyway. I kinda thought about maybe having him know something new, but… eh.

**Was that Karin finding the bodies of the other Grass team?** Yes. Karin's first meeting with Sasuke (in canon) was when he saved her from a bear in the Forest of Death. She was wearing a Grass headband, and it seems she was not yet one of Orochimaru's subordinates (she was not in disguise, she didn't have any bite marks - in other words, she hadn't been experimented on to have that ability, etc). So Karin makes a cameo here as a Grass kunoichi.

/~/~


	11. Chunin Exams 4

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 11:** Chunin Exams ~ Fight, Fight, Fight (part 4)

**Notes:** Get ready for letdowns and side characters all over the place (?!).

/~/~

Gaara didn't waste his breath on words.

Jinchuuriki or not, secret weapon or not, he knew he would be fighting at a disadvantage. As he raised both hands, open palmed, a tidal wave of sand surged up through the canyon behind him, crested and began to crash down.

"Choju Giga," Sai murmured again, holding up a hand seal.

This time, it was a giant ink bird that pulled itself free of his scroll. It flew up almost vertically to escape the oncoming sand tsunami, Sai and Sasuke clinging to its back. Orochimaru's gaze darted to his target, but even he had no time to pursue, his attention taken up with defending himself from Gaara's attack.

"Futon: Daitoppa!" Orochimaru declared, thrusting his hands out.

His jutsu's gale-force winds collided with Gaara's sand tsunami, exploding into a chaotic sandstorm that engulfed the entire canyon. It buffeted Sai's ink bird, which struggled to stay in the air as the other two genin fled from the scene of battle.

Sasuke glanced back, but he couldn't see anything except a massive dust cloud rising up toward the dark sky - then, a sudden geyser of sand erupting up, only to fall away, as the battle continued unseen.

"Hold on," Sai instructed over his shoulder.

Flapping its wings, the giant bird dived into one of the narrow canyons that ran parallel to the one they had been in. It was even more claustrophobic traveling highspeed upon its back rather than on foot. They weaved between the pillars and crags, trying to put as much distance between them and Orochimaru as possible.

They had drawn him out, as was the purpose of their mission. Now, it was a matter of not letting Orochimaru obtain his goal - Sasuke, for whatever purpose he wanted him - while Gaara bought them time.

But even if it was their mission, it still felt...

"Wait!" Sasuke barked suddenly, startling Sai enough to make him obey without question. He jumped off the ink bird even as it flapped its wings sharply to kill its forward momentum and hover in midair. "Naruto! Over here!"

The flash of yellow Sasuke had seen out of the corner of his eye also reversed suddenly and darted toward Sasuke. "You're okay? What about Gaara?" Naruto asked quickly, as he and Sasuke landed next to each other, Kankuro bringing up behind.

"He's back there, fighting," Sasuke replied. "We should…"

Naruto didn't bother listening further. "Head back toward the village! I'm going to support Gaara!" he shouted, already rushing away.

Kankuro hesitated only a moment longer, before he followed, biting off a curse.

"W-wait! What do you think you're going to do?! Against an opponent like that, you'll be in the way! You don't stand a chance!" Sasuke called out after them, but neither so much as glanced back.

Watching them rush in without hesitation made his fists clench. Mission or not, he wanted to turn back and fight too - or at least, part of him did.

The other part remembered the terror of Orochimaru's very presence. To run back to that, against orders even… What kind of madness was that? Why would anyone do that?

Naruto and Kankuro were doing it for their teammate, for Gaara. Their concern was enough to overcome their fear. Were teammates really something that important? Kakashi was always going on about it too. Were the bonds between teammates so strong? Just what did being teammates mean?

Sasuke glanced at Sai, who had directed his ink bird to land nearby. The other boy was watching him, his dark eyes and pale features unreadable as always, though at least he had stopped smiling. Kakashi had warned Sasuke about Sai - that he was part of another organization, whose members killed their emotions and cared only for the mission.

In other words, someone who was not a teammate, only a temporary ally, and who most likely did not even understand the meaning that others placed in the concept.

And as for the other one… Sasuke didn't even know where Hinata was. He had completely lost sight of her during his attempt to buy time against Orochimaru - it couldn't even be called a battle - and, with a twinge of shame, he realized he hadn't tried to look for her in the confusing moments before his and Sai's escape.

She was a fellow Leaf-nin and his teammate. She was only dragged into this to fill out his team. Sasuke knew he should go back. It was the right thing to do, what Kakashi would have wanted. But…

'Run and cling to your pathetic life,' his brother's voice echoed in his mind. And that was what Sasuke had done that night. He had been unable to do anything but run.

He didn't want to be that scared little kid anymore. Even if he was still weak… Wasn't Naruto the same? And yet he kept rushing forward, back in the Land of the Sea and here too. For his teammate, for his village…

"I'm going back too," Sasuke declared forcefully.

He took off before Sai had a chance to protest - and before he had a chance to reconsider.

/~/~

It wasn't that Naruto didn't know he was being foolish, just rushing in, but he couldn't do anything else. This was Gaara - his first, closest friend - facing off against a person who was more like a monster. Against someone even the Kazekage was hard-pressed to face!

Kankuro followed him, radiating silent, grim unease but without a single protest. However, Naruto didn't spare him a backward glance.

There was no doubt they were getting closer - sand began to build up throughout the canyon, until it covered the entire floor like a smooth, faintly glittering pale river. The sheer amount of it was staggering, almost more than the dissolution of Shukaku's form had left in the Land of Rivers.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then called out, "Gaara! Gaara, where are you?" It wasn't like they had much chance to sneak up on one of the Sannin anyway.

There was a response - a geyser of sand, shooting up from down a fork in the canyon ahead. At least Gaara was still alive, though Naruto could tell the strength of his technique was much less than usual.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled again as they approached and he caught sight of his friend - leaning heavily against a boulder in the middle of the canyon.

Gaara was conspicuously alone, but he made no move to warn them of a trap as they ran to his side. Letting out a relieved breath, he slid down to sit on the sand, one hand clutching at his abdomen.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, wasting no time in trying to pull Gaara's shirt up.

"Where's the snake freak?" Kankuro asked more pragmatically.

"He's… ran away," Gaara muttered, his expression strained and tired. "When he heard you. I think he… thought you would have someone else with you."

Kankuro snickered a touch hysterically, as some of the tension eased. Of course Orochimaru would have assumed they were returning with other reinforcements. Why else would they be crazy enough to rush headlong into danger? For that matter, he had probably thought there was no other way they could have defeated his subordinates.

"That's good…" Naruto said absently, prodding carefully at Gaara's stomach. He frowned. "This is…"

"He did something. I can't mold chakra properly," Gaara said, frowning uncomfortably.

"It's a seal," Naruto judged. "He must have slapped it on top of the one you already have, and the two are messing each other up." He frowned too, and shook his head. "I don't know how to take it off. We better leave it until we can get back to the village."

Gaara nodded slowly. "...I don't think I can walk right now," he said quietly. "Maybe it'll settle down, but…"

"Whatever," Kankuro declared, plopping down next to him. "We did our part. We can wait to get rescued. And the meantime, Naruto can stand guard. I'm sure he can handle a couple stuck up foreign genin."

He smirked when Naruto scowled. Revenge was sweet.

/~/~

Another team of three was making their way down the maze of canyons, their thoughts still on the much simpler goal of a handful of pretty flowers and a promotion.

"What's wrong?" Tenten asked, as Neji suddenly drew to a stop. He had been in the lead, his Byakugan proving its worth in the darkness, and she and Lee had immediately stopped with him.

"I'm not sure," Neji said, frowning. The veins around his eyes pulsed. "I thought I saw something, earlier and now, but it's too far to make out…"

"...I wasn't sure if I should say anything, but… do you think there's something else going on here?" Tenten ventured. She bit her lip, fiddling with a kunai. "It just… feels weird, you know? That the location was changed all of a sudden - everyone was so certain it would be in Konoha this time around. And then that our team is one of only two they send. There's plenty of older, more experienced teams, and Sand's supposed to be our ally!"

"I too have sensed something deeper at work," Lee agreed, unusually serious. "And… when Gai-sensei said to be careful, his demeanor lacked its usual Youthfulness."

"The proctors were acting oddly too," Neji said. As a Hyuga, he had been able to read a subtle tension that pervaded many of the Sand shinobi, far beyond what a Chunin Exam with allied villages would have called for.

"You want to investigate?" Tenten guessed.

"Let's split up," Neji agreed, with a smirk.

"Yosh! Then I swear I will uncover the truth before you do! Or I will do two hundred laps once we return home!" Lee declared.

/~/~

Elsewhere, a different team of three winced simultaneously and raised their hands to their necks.

Only one out of the three wore a headband - emblazoned with a music note. The more noticeable thing about him was the fact he had six arms. The man next to him was rather strange as well, with what looked like a second head growing out of the back of his head. Only the female of the team appeared completely human, though even her vivid red-hued hair made her stand out all the same.

"That's the signal. Kidomaru, Tayuya, let's go," the two-head said, biting back a scowl as the pain faded. "Orochimaru-sama has finished his part. Now it's our turn."

"Who the hell put you in charge, Sakon? Or are you the other waste of space? Why do we even need two of you useless scum?" Tayuya, the girl, sneered.

"More to the point, weren't we supposed to wait a while? He's getting the Cursed Seal, so he'll be out of it, if he even survives," Kidomaru pointed out. His tone remained disinterested, despite commenting on what amounted to insubordination.

"Oh, were we?" Sakon drawled. "Well, no reason not to start early. And if that Uchiha brat Orochimaru-sama is so interested in happens to die while the Cursed Seal is taking hold…" He shrugged, smirking. "It's only a one in ten chance of survival."

'And if we happen to help him become one of the nine who die,' he thought, 'no big loss… to anyone except that bastard Orochimaru.'

"Aren't you just a regular little suck up," Tayuya mocked. "Turning into Kimimaro?"

Sakon gestured toward her rudely, but both were smirking, sharing the same thoughts.

"Fine, suit yourself," Kidomaru said, shrugging with his top shoulders. "But first, shouldn't we do something about that?"

He jerked the thumb of one arm over his shoulder, toward the cliff wall. It was where Naruto had left Jirobo embedded into the rock. But none of the Sound team seemed concerned of the fate of their comrade.

Tayuya clicked her tongue, pulling out a kunai and turning it over in her hand. "Like we have any use for a fatso who can't even manage a couple brats," she said, and let the weapon fly.

Jirobo's body jerked as the blade slammed into his throat.

Hidden Sound had no place for failure.

/~/~

In the end, Hinata had remained where she had been left frozen in fear by Orochimaru's bloodlust. The Sannin had completely dismissed her, and the battle had moved past her as if she was no more than another feature of the landscape.

It was a long time before she managed to pull herself together enough to stumble to her feet. 'I… I have to find my team,' she thought. But finding her team might mean running into… that enemy again, and the mere thought was enough to make Hinata tremble. For a brief moment, she wished she had taken Sasuke's offer and stayed in the village.

The reason she hadn't was...

'This is an important mission... entrusted to me by the clan...' Hinata repeated to herself. 'This is my chance... to bring honor to the Hyuga.'

This was her last and only chance. She had shown no talent for the Hyuga clan Juken style. Throughout Academy, she had performed only passably, with no outstanding accomplishments. She and her genin team had failed their jonin sensei's test. That had been the final nail in her coffin and the last straw for her father's tolerance. Instead of sending her back to Academy for another year, he had simply withdrawn her completely and confined her to the compound. There were no longer even attempts to train her, just a silent abandonment and forsaking.

So what if she would likely die if she drew attention to herself here? Hinata's only other option was to go back to her clan a failure and slowly, silently waste away until she disappeared as her family so wished she would.

Hinata knew that. She understood that she had nothing to lose. But still, her legs wouldn't move. She couldn't take a single step forward.

She was still standing unsteadily in the same spot, slumped over and shoulders shaking, when Sasuke found her. "Are you injured?" he asked brusquely. Hinata shook her head, to ashamed to even saying anything. At least Sasuke looked okay, Sai too, as he brought up a little behind Sasuke.

They regrouped with the Hidden Sand team a little while later, the six of them huddling under a small crag as they discussed their next move.

"We should report in," Kankuro said. "So we can turn around and head back to the village or keep going forward to the oasis. There's an outpost there too. There are patrols along the borders of the exam field, but we might not run into one, and I don't really fancy running around the open desert."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, we should get Gaara to someone who can… check him over."

"I'm fine," Gaara disagreed, surprisingly. "It's settling. I can't mold chakra properly, but I feel alright otherwise."

"That's all well and good, but if we turn back, we'll end up running into the other teams, the ones who still think this is just an exam," Sasuke pointed out. "They'll probably attack us, to cut down on the competition. That might even happen if we keep going forward, if someone outpaced us or catches up."

"I don't know about your team, but we're not in great shape to be doing more fighting," Kankuro said. "My puppet's all busted up, Gaara's basically out, and Naruto… well, he's probably fine, but I don't want to rely on him."

Naruto glared, especially when Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"We're not exactly fresh either," Sasuke said. "But we can't just hide out either. That's not any better."

"Maybe we should wait for a while anyway. Until, you know… everything is settled."

"There is another concern," Sai spoke up, drawing surprised looks from the rest of the genin. He held up one hand. In the palm was a short, slightly messy ink message. "One of my ink animals returned from scouting. The team from Sound is nearby and they are looking for us."

Kankuro bit off a curse, while Hinata bit her lip nervously. Naruto and Gaara just frowned, both equally stubbornly determined. "Just what we need," Kankuro muttered. Glancing at Gaara, he wondered, 'Can we outrun them?' It seemed unlikely.

"You mean, they're looking for me," Sasuke judged. He thought only for a moment before nodding to himself. "I'm going to draw them off. I can move faster on my own anyway. The rest of you can make a break for it… or hole up somewhere."

"I'm coming with you," Naruto said immediately. "The whole point is to make sure that snake freak doesn't get you. And you can't take three of them alone. They're probably not even really genin."

"I will come as well," Sai said.

"Someone should stay with the others," Sasuke said. "In case they get attacked after all. You can send a distress message or fly them away. Naruto and I are enough for the decoy." He also trusted Naruto with his back more than Sai, and their respective elements made for an easy collaboration.

Hinata curled in on herself a little more, having already drawn away from the discussion unnoticed, at Sasuke's off-hand, unintentional dismissal of even the thought of her contributing to a fight.

That was the plan they went with.

/~/~

Unfortunately, there were unforeseen complications.

Sai's expression remained even as he received the report of one of his ink mouse spies. "They've split up," he told the others. "One of them broke off to follow Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun, but the other two are still moving toward us."

"What the hell do they want from us?" Kankuro wondered, scowling. He had set the area around their hiding place with the best traps he could manage, but he had no desire to stake their lives on them.

The answer was sadistic entertainment. Sakon - the strongest, despite how the other two complained - had decided to take the "good prey" for himself and set off after Sasuke. He could guess, of course, from the fact that Sasuke was up and running around, that something had gone wrong with the plan. But that did little to deter him from "carrying out his orders" to test the Uchiha.

And if he happened to misjudge his strength or go too far… Well, a weakling who couldn't take it was no great loss.

Sakon didn't expect much of a fight, even from an Uchiha, and certainly not enough to overcome his Level 2 Cursed Seal, so he felt no need for backup. The other two were content to wash their hands of what they knew was coming - so that if Orochimaru was angry enough to dole out punishment, they would be able to deny any involvement.

Instead, Tayuya and Kidomaru decided to entertain themselves by hunting the other genin.

"I will go and try to lead them away," Sai said, after barely a moment of deliberation. "At least I should be able to split their forces further. If it comes to that, will you be able to take one of them?"

Kankuro and Gaara exchanged a look. "We'll figure something out," Kankuro said grimly. "I'm not completely out of tricks." But it would definitely be tough. He could still use the individual parts of Karasu, but controlling them one by one wasn't a skill he was anywhere close to mastering. Aside from catching them by surprise, his chances wouldn't be very good. And Gaara...

"I'm sorry. I don't think I'll be able to help much," Gaara said quietly, as Sai slipped away. What little control over his chakra he had regained was barely enough to move a few handfuls of sand, and he still felt nauseous - a new and unwelcome experience.

"Don't worry about it," Kankuro said, clapping Gaara on the shoulder without really thinking about it.

It was only Gaara's startled expression that reminded him that this kind of action would have been unthinkable and a death sentence a few months back. But Kankuro stubbornly kept his hand in place, squeezing reassuringly.

"Protecting their siblings is what big brothers do. It's, you know… being family and stuff," he said, and looked away awkwardly. He just hoped Temari never found out he said something so mushy.

Gaara's pleased expression was worth it though.

"You! Hyuga girl!" Kankuro barked, desperate to get off the subject. Hinata jumped at being suddenly addressed and stared at him like a startled rabbit. "Can you use your Byakugan to keep watch?"

"Y-yes!" Hinata replied quickly. She silently activated her clan's dojutsu, and focused on processing the suddenly increased visual input.

It was better than thinking about much more suited for this mission everyone except her was. 'They're so strong, so determined,' she couldn't help but realized. 'Why am I the only one who keeps wavering? Why am I the only one who's useless?'

/~/~

The attack took them completely by surprise.

Gaara's sand arced up, slower than usual, but still faster than any of them. The weak shield wasn't enough to stop the attack, but it slowed it enough for them to see the shape - a golden arrow that clipped Gaara's shoulder and buried its point in the canyon wall behind him.

Kankuro reacted first - his eyes darted to estimate the arrow's origin point, then he quickly dragged Gaara to shelter behind a boulder. "Get down!" he barked to Hinata, who scrambled to obey despite her confusion and shock.

"I… I didn't see it at all," she stammered, hiding behind another boulder. "I still can't see anyone!"

"Did it come from outside your range?" Kankuro asked.

"I… I don't…" Hinata started to say, only to cut off with a shriek of fear, as another golden arrow tore past her with enough force to gouge the boulder Hinata had been hiding behind.

"What?! It's coming from a different direction?" Kankuro realized, his eyes darting between the two projectiles and the still shadowed canyon. 'Did he change location? Is there more than one?' he thought frantically.

"It curved," Gaara said, his thoughts running along the same lines. He was right, there was a subtle mismatch between the place where the second arrow had clipped the rock, the point where it was buried in the canyon wall, and the angle of the shaft, when all three should have lined up.

"Just great," Kankuro snarled. 'What the hell are we going to do? If he's out of her range, and he's definitely out of mine… How can we retaliate, if we can't even trace back where he is? Even Gaara's sand can't protect him right now. That thing went right through. He'd be dead if it wasn't a miss...'

That helplessness and frustration was exactly what the last of the Sound team wanted. It made the hunt more fun, to see the helpless prey squirm as it tried to escape the trap - only to meet its inevitable end.

Kidomaru chuckled to himself as notched another golden arrow in his war bow. 'Should I make another wide shot? Scare them a bit more?' he thought with amusement. 'Or take out one of the little weaklings? Make them scream?' He had them completely pinned down - he could do anything he wanted. Sakon and Tayuya might have taken the more interesting prey, but that didn't mean he couldn't have his fun...

Though there was no particular need to, he had even shifted his full Cursed Seal transformation, his skin darkening, his hair growing pale, and a third eye opening on his forehead. The changed state heightened his sense, as well as his power, and made the game all the more enjoyable.

The thick string of his war bow hummed as he drew it back with his teeth and one hand.

But in the moment before he released it, Kidomaru suddenly spun around to point at a completely different target - one that was much closer.

Neji, who had been attempting to sneak up on the Sound-nin, had no time to dodge the arrow that was suddenly speeding toward him. However, he did not attempt to. "Kaiten!" he exclaimed, and began to spin, rapidly engulfing himself in a swirling sphere of chakra.

Unlike Gaara's weakened sand shield, this defense was enough to deflect Kidomaru's arrow, sending it skittering away between the stones.

Kidomaru didn't hesitate or wait for Neji to finish his technique. Puffing up his cheeks with a deep breath, he spat out a sticky chakra-infused web that tangled around Neji, who had just begun to slow his spin in order to make his own attack.

"Gotcha," Kidomaru smirked, as his opponent was completely bound. "Hmm, so you're another of those white eyed bastards? Come to save the girl? I hate you trash the most, always acting so high and mighty. What are your precious eyes going to do for you now?"

Neji tugged experimentally on the web, but it wouldn't budge. However, instead of the fear and despair Kidomaru had hoped to see, his expression shifted into a smirk. "You are foolish to underestimate the Byakugan, the strongest dojutsu," Neji said. Precise chakra flared across his body, easily tearing through the webs. Standing tall and proud, Neji declared, "You have no chance. Accept your fate."

He charged Kidomaru, one hand darting out to close a tenketsu. However, instead of skin and muscle, Neji struck more of Kidomaru's hardened gold substance, which had appeared around part of his body like a crude armor. In the moment after his attack, Neji was left open, and another of Kidomaru's hands closed around his wrist. With beyond human strength, Kidomaru dragged his opponent off his feet and flung him away.

Biting down on the thumb of a hand, Kidomaru flipped through a short sequence of hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he exclaimed, slamming his hand against the ground.

In a burst of smoke, a massive spider appeared beneath his feet, its mandibles clicking ominously.

"My fate? Yeah, right," Kidomaru smirked. "We'll see who has no chance here, you trash."

/~/~

"I found them," Gaara said quietly. He had covered one of his eyes to use the Third Eye jutsu, but the other clearly showed the strain he was under. "It's one of the Sound team and… he's fighting the Hyuga from Bushy-Brow's team. That way."

"Neji-niisan?" Hinata murmured in surprise, her eyes widening. She bit her lip. So even her cousin, who didn't know the truth about the situation and their mission, was doing more than her to help.

"I don't think… he'll be able to buy much more time," Gaara said, frowning. "They started out matched, but he's falling behind."

Kankuro nodded sharply. "Alright, I'll-"

"I'll go," Hinata stated.

She didn't wait for them to agree or - far more likely - protest. Hinata darted out from her hiding place and rushed in the direction Gaara had indicated. 'Even if it's just buying them time, even if it's just one minute… I have to do something to help! I can't be useless any further! Not when even Neji-niisan… even Neji-niisan is fighting!'

Once she was past the traps Kankuro had set, she focused her Byakugan ahead, extending its range enough to finally see their enemy and Neji.

Her cousin was showing his skill as a genius and best of his year - the best of their generation in the entire Hyuga clan. His hands were flashing out in Juken strikes almost faster than Hinata could follow, destroying the swarm of dog-sized spiders attacking him from every direction.

As Hinata approached, Neji disposed of the last of them. The giant spider that had spawned them screeched, the grating sound echoing down the canyon, and lunged for him. Its massive form towered over Neji, but his stance didn't waver and his strikes didn't slow. The giant spider shuddered and spasmed as Neji's Juken tore not only through its tenketsu, but also its organs.

Neji launched into the final, rapid round of his Eight Trigrams - Hinata had no time to be surprised that he, a Branch Family member, could perform that technique - and the giant spider burst open.

Satisfied with his victory, Neji paused and smirked at his opponent, who had been watching from where he clung to a canyon wall. That was a mistake. Kidomaru smirked back, unconcerned by his summon's destruction. Uncrossing one pair of arms, he gestured to Neji as if to negligently say, "Come, bring it on."

Sneering, Neji tried to attack. But he found himself unable to move, completely ensnared and trapped.

The giant spider had released a cloud of silk in its death throes. Its web had fallen slackly around and on Neji, so he had paid it no mind. However, during his short respite, it had hardened and slowly tightened, binding him in place.

Neji had used up more chakra than he intended in fighting the summon, and his reaction time had slowed. Crude kunai made of golden metal flashed in Kidomaru's hands, before flying toward Neji, who could already see that he wouldn't be able to dodge or defend in time.

"Hakke Kusho!"

A compressed burst of chakra and the air being driven forward by it scattered the golden kunai. Having finally reached the battle, Hinata jumped between Neji and Kidomaru, immediately taking a Juken stance.

"What are you doing? You're no match for him!" Neji snapped. Concentrating, he was finally able to use his chakra to cut one arm free and quickly moved to do the same for the rest of his body. "Get out of here, Hinata-sama. There's nothing you can do."

"No," Hinata said quietly, a word that she couldn't remember ever using before. "I'm not going to run. I'm not going to leave you to fight alone."

Because even though Neji was much stronger than her, the battle was not going in his favor. His opponent was more experienced and stronger in certain ways, and had succeeded in wearing Neji down and turning the tide in his favor. Because even if Hinata wouldn't be able to do anything, she had to at least try, like everyone else had.

"It's the fate of the Branch Family to die for the Main Family," Neji said, ripping his other arm free. "It is my fate to die for you, Hinata-sama." There was nothing resembling acceptance at this notion in his voice.

"You're not doing this for me at all," Hinata said quietly. "You hate the Main Family, don't you? It might be your duty to protect me, b-but you're not doing that at all. You wouldn't do that."

Scowling, Neji looked away quickly. They both knew she was right - Neji had hated the Main Family ever since the incident with Hidden Cloud's ambassador. He didn't dare to openly oppose the Main Family, but he wouldn't put his life on the line for them. Not willingly.

The reason he was fighting was pride, to prove that he was better than her - a failure, maybe, but still a member of the Main Family. If he could defeat an enemy that had been about to kill Hinata, who had once been the heir, then he, a member of the Branch Family, was better. The Branch Family would be better than the Main Family, even if that victory was not acknowledged or known to anyone else.

"So what? I don't want your help, and I don't need you to rescue me. Do you think a failure like you stands a chance?" Neji snapped. "What are you trying to prove, Hinata-sama? Just run away. Whatever my reasons, I can still serve as a suitable sacrificial pawn for the Main Family… for you."

"No," Hinata repeated. "I… I don't want anyone else to die for me. Back then, I was completely useless. I've been completely useless all this time. But this time, I-I'm going to fight. Please get away, Neji-niisan. I will cover for you."

Kidomaru, who had been watching them with amusement, began to clap slowly and sarcastically. "Wow," he drawled. "How touching! What a scene! You trash are the best! I haven't had this much entertainment in ages!" He spread one set of arms and shrugged. "It's all meaningless, of course. You're both going to die here. But go ahead. I'll let you decide who dies first."

Hinata's hands trembled finely, but she squared her shoulders.

"I'll go," she said.

Like before, she didn't wait for anyone's approval or protest. Hinata charged, her hands darting out with swift precision, but Kidomaru dodged with ease, still smirking.

"Whoops," he mocked. "That was close.. that one too…"

Unlike Neji, Hinata didn't respond. She was far too used to being reprimanded for her combat abilities, or lack thereof. Kidomaru even chuckled as he evaded lazily. Hinata's strikes began to slow, as if her stamina was waning.

"Is that all? Too bad, I was hoping for more fun… But this is it!" he declared, a bloodthirsty smile splitting his face. He breathed deeply, his cheeks puffing out - about to spit more of his web or his golden metal.

However, what came out was a shocked gasp as Hinata planted a firm strike into his chest. She had purposefully underplayed her speed and strength to take him by surprise.

Kidomaru wasn't stunned for long. "You little bitch!" he roared, one hand snapping out to grab Hinata by the neck and lift her clean off her feet. As his hold tightened, Hinata struggled to breathe, her face beginning to turn blue.

But in his anger, Kidomaru had made the same mistake again. He had allowed himself to be distracted.

"You are within my field of divination," Neji announced behind him. "Hakke Rokujuyon-sho."

Kidomaru staggered as the first two strikes connected. 'Damn it!' he thought, more angry than afraid. 'I've had enough of this trash!'

Four more strikes followed, before he had a chance to escape. But by this point, Kidomaru began to realize something wasn't right.

'It's too strong. Why isn't my armor working? I… I can't form any Kumo Nenkin?!' he realized, his eyes widening in shock. The next eight strikes made him groan sharply and drop Hinata, who quickly rolled out of the way. 'Why?! Why can't I mold chakra properly?'

That was the problem - his Spider Sticky Gold was formed by molding chakra into his spit or sweat, but he couldn't seem to mold the chakra correctly, so the gold metal was too slow to harden and too brittle. Neji's strikes broke through Kidomaru's attempts to create his armor easily.

As sixteen strikes pounded him from behind, Kidomaru's gaze was caught on Hinata, who had scrambled out of the way as soon as she was released. Her hand was at her throat, and she was coughing a little, but she didn't look afraid anymore - or surprised.

She had made her one strike against him count, shutting down a vital tenketsu. It wasn't enough to stop him, but it slowed him down enough to let Neji's attacks hit home. Kidomaru didn't even have the breath to curse.

Thirty strikes, and then the final sixty four.

Kidomaru's body dropped to its knees, then hit the ground with a heavy thud and didn't move again. Behind him, Neji let out a heavy breath, slumping in exhaustion.

"...Thank you, Neji-niisan," Hinata said quietly.

"I didn't do it for you," he admitted. Glancing away, at the slowly lightening sky, he thought, 'Even if it's the fate of the Branch Family to protect the Main Family, I… I chose to fight, for my own reasons.'

It was strange thought, but not a bad one.

/~/~

**Q&A:**

**Why did Orochimaru retreat?** He was on a time limit and he knew it. He knew from the start that he was going into a trap - a way to draw him out so that some powerful team could attempt to corner and take him out. Sasuke and Gaara had stalled him for a good while, which would give the adults time to find him. Then, with Naruto and Kankuro returning, Orochimaru assumed that the team put together to fight him for real was finally there.

Sure, he could have tried to hide and look for Sasuke again, but he didn't know how far they might have gone. Orochimaru is crazy and arrogant, but there are limits. The entire situation had basically been slipping out of his control by inches from the moment the initial invasion plan failed - no longer where he had wanted it to be (Forest of Death), no longer a surprise attack, etc. Overall, it got too messy, and he decided to cut his losses.

Originally, I planned to have Naruto get stabbed by the Kusanagi to protect Gaara (ala Tsunade for Naruto), but to be honest, I don't think their friendship needs it anymore. So instead the "protecting" talk got shifted to Kankuro. Which has the side effect of even further destroying the chances of NaruHina in this AU. Oops.

**Why did you skip so many fights?** I got tired of writing this story. I was watching Shippuden to motivate myself, but something about the "Sasuke resurrects the Hokages" arc just really killed my interest. You can also clearly see where I just got too lazy to keep writing and decided to skip my way through to just get it done somehow. I am the best writer. It's me.

/~/~


	12. Chunin Exams 5 FINAL

/~/~

**Title:** New Wind Nation: Alliance

**Chapter 12:** Chunin Exams ~ See You Again (part 5) [FINAL]

**Notes: **Prepare for more anticlimactic disappointment. Last chapter!

/~/~

"You two… kind of overdid it," Tenten commented as she landed behind Naruto and Sasuke and made her way to stand next to them. She had seen the pillar of flame going up nearby and gone to investigate, only to find two boys from different teams and villages - who, surprisingly, had not been fighting each other, but rather a third party.

All three genin looked consideringly across the charred, gouged and slightly melted section of the canyon in front of them. Through the heat haze of the cooling stone, they could just make out Sakon's collapsed form, where the Sound-nin had been thrown by Sasuke and Naruto's collaboration attack.

While combining fire and wind was certainly effective, especially given Naruto's tendency for brute force in his jutsus, it was also rather dangerous. The edge of Sasuke's shirt was still smoking, and his arm was a boiled lobster red from the heat. He had barely managed to escape the edge of the inferno.

Naruto chuckled awkwardly. "Maybe," he conceded. "But I wanted to deal with him quick. Let's get back to our teams. I'm worried about Gaara… and Kankuro, I guess."

Sasuke nodded.

"I'm coming too," Tenten said.

"Er… that's kind of…" Naruto tried to protest.

Tenten waved it aside. "Come on, if your teams are working together, no reason for us to join too, right? The more, the merrier. And Neji said he saw something weird, so we should stick together."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance. Sasuke shrugged one shoulder and looked away.

'Well, I guess that's true,' Naruto thought, nodding.

/~/~

Somehow, they were still the last ones to get back. Probably, it had something to do with the roundabout merry chase Sasuke and Naruto had first led Sakon on, to get him away from the others. Neither of them could track in the dark much either, and Tenten didn't know where they were supposed to be going.

It was only around dawn that one of Sai's ink creations found them and showed them the way to where the rest of their teams had gathered. And it was the rest of all three of their teams - even Lee was there.

Apparently, he had run across Sai - who had dealt with Tayuya successfully on his own - and doggedly followed the Root agent back, ignoring all of Sai's attempts to convince him to go away, or evade him.

"Yosh! How fortunate that all of us have come together!" Lee declared boisterously. "This must be a sign! Let us unite and claim victory in this round for all our teams!" He posed, thumb up and teeth sparkling.

This time, Neji didn't protest, only shooting Lee a faintly annoyed look. Tenten beamed, nodding - that had been what she wanted from the start.

"What do you say? Sasuke-san? Naruto-san?" Lee insisted, turning to the other two teams.

Sasuke thought for a moment, glancing up at the morning sky. 'Whatever happened, it must be over by now,' he thought. 'And with the Sound team out of the way, it's probably wouldn't put these three in danger to travel with us… Why not? Making chunin less than a year after graduating does sound rather nice.'

"Fine," Sasuke declared, smirking a little. He spared a short look at his team, but Hinata just smiled weakly, her throat sore and swollen from Kidomaru's attempted strangulation, and Sai wore the same bland smile as always.

Sasuke and Lee both turned to Naruto, who was busy fussing over Gaara - not that Gaara seemed to need it, having regained his strength, if not his usual chakra control.

"Oi, why are you all looking to him?" Kankuro protested. "I'm the most experienced on our team!"

Neji shot him a deeply condescending look, while Tenten hid a giggle behind one hand. Sasuke snorted quietly and said, rather dryly, "So then, team leader? What's your decision?"

Kankuro glared back for a moment, before sighing heavily. 'It's not like I can tell the other Leaf team that we're not in this for a promotion,' he thought. 'And it would be nice to get something out of this. If I make chunin, I can rub it in Temari's face...'

"Fine, we're in," he decided.

'Not much else we can do,' Kankuro thought, as the three teams prepared to move out. 'We did our part. I just hope Father and the others did theirs...'

/~/~

It had been still dark when Orochimaru abandoned his battle with Gaara. Not because he was losing - and the fact that he was not only holding his own, but winning against a jinchuriki, albeit an inexperienced one, was a testament to the power of the Sannin - but because it was time to move on.

Orochimaru had known from the start that Sasuke had been sent to the Hidden Sand exams as bait. Even if Kimimaro hadn't been good enough to mention his own revealing remarks to Sasuke, it would have been obvious anyway. Why else would they allow their last, precious Uchiha to come to Hidden Sand when he was still so green and inexperienced?

However, it had been a good chance to see the boy in person. Sasuke was a long way from his brother, but his potential was unquestionable, and that was all the better for Orochimaru - Itachi had proven too strong to use. Young Sasuke, on the other hand, could be molded to Orochimaru's purposes.

It was just a shame Orochimaru had not been able to leave his Cursed Seal on the boy. He had thought Danzo would take the opportunity to get rid of Sasuke - he had always hated and feared the Uchiha Clan. 'I even promised to share my research and discoveries with him,' Orochimaru thought. 'That unreliable old fool...' Perhaps finding out about Orochimaru's invasion plan had finally convinced him that the Sannin was too much of a threat to Hidden Leaf.

Well, it wasn't a problem. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

For now, Orochimaru had another appointment to keep.

He couldn't afford to spend too much chakra playing with the genin and the jinchuriki - not when he was going to be facing other, much more dangerous opponents soon.

Because if Sasuke was the bait, then there must have been a trap - and the Kazekage would certainly be part of it. They had a score to settle, and this time Orochimaru would not let him escape.

Orochimaru didn't wait for Kimimaro and Jirobo. Either they would rendezvous with him, or they were not worthy of being his subordinates.

He didn't bother warning the rest of the Sound Five either. He doubted that any one of them could defeat Sasuke alone, and those three in particular were likely to both refuse to work together and to underestimate their target. With Danzo's Root agent and the Sand teams also lending their assistance, Tayuya, Kidomaru and Sakon's chances of making it back were rather low.

It didn't matter much - he had learned what he wanted of their abilities.

Instead, Orochimaru proceeded alone into the desert. He headed away from the village at a leisurely pace, certain that Hidden Sand had put in place some way to detect and intercept him.

He was not disappointed. It wasn't long before the sand under his feet suddenly slid away, dragging him down and sucking him into a swirling pool of quicksand. The sand sparkled in the moonlight - like golden dust.

'I see,' Orochimaru thought, as the sand constricted sharply around his legs. 'He scattered small amounts of Gold Dust all across the dunes around the canyon. Any disturbance in the Gold Dust lets him know of a trespasser, and he can use it to trap as well...'

"Not bad, Kazekage-kun," Orochimaru said, smirking.

However, it was far from enough. Orochimaru easily tore his way free, jumping out of the quicksand pit. To cover such a wide area, the Gold Dust had to be spread thinly and was quite weak. It was only meant to delay him.

"Raikiri!"

Lightning-nature chakra sparked around Kakashi's outstretched hand, as he burst out of a sand dune - the Gold Dust had warned the Kazekage of Orochimaru's location and path a long way back, allowing his opponents to intercept him and to hide in the sand with the same Gold Dust - but Orochimaru twisted his torso in an inhuman, snake-like way, letting Kakashi's lunge carry him clean past.

'It was too much to hope that it would so easy,' Kakashi thought with some disgust, as he regained his footing and stood ready again.

"My, my, to have not only the Kazekage, but even the great Hatake Kakashi come to greet me, what an honor," Orochimaru chuckled, moving to face both Kakashi and the Kazekage, who had also emerged from the sand. "But Sand and Leaf are certainly getting cozy. To think that you were planning to betray your ally just weeks ago!"

"It was my mistake," the Kazekage admitted calmly. "Listening to your words was a miscalculation from that start, and I am grateful to have been shown how wrong I was before the situation became unsalvageable."

"It's certainly admirable that you can set aside your… difficulties to face me," Orochimaru said, unbothered by the lack of response to his taunts, "but as flattering as it is to have you both here, it won't be enough. This time, you won't escape… either of you."

"I'm not the same kid I was ten years ago," Kakashi said, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not going to freeze from just your presence." 'I won't let you threaten my student or my village any further,' he thought.

"This time will be different," the Kazekage agreed.

"Yes, Jiraiya isn't going to show up to save you this time," Orochimaru said, smiling patronizingly. "He's with the Hokage in Leaf, isn't he? And it's just you two here."

Jiraiya had been ordered to remain in the village until after the Chunin Exams, just in case there was some attempt at an invasion after all. He was also to accompany the Hokage to the third round - part of the reason Orochimaru had decided against an assassination attempt, though the long, empty road between Leaf and Sand would have provided many good opportunities.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," the Kazekage said.

The sand dune next to him shifted apart to reveal a large scroll standing on end. As the Kazekage tipped it over, it unrolled - showing the wide seal circle written inside. In the middle of the array was the character for "person."

A burst of smoke engulfed the scroll as the summoning written on it was activated. When it cleared, Jiraiya stood in the symbol's place. His expression was almost unnaturally serious as he regarded Orochimaru, foregoing even his favorite self-introduction and dance.

"Hello, Orochimaru," Jiraiya said coolly. "It's been a long time."

Orochimaru sighed. "You insist on making this difficult," he noted. "But I expected that. Still clinging to our so-called bond - you were always too stubborn for your own good."

"No, I understand now," Jiraiya said, his expression growing even colder. "We might have been teammates once, but that ended when you abandoned the village. You made your choice, and it's past time Sensei and I acknowledged it. If you're willing to go so far as to attack the Leaf, you're nothing but a traitor. And we'll take you down like one."

A brief flicker of something like pain or regret passed over his features, but only for a moment.

"You can try," Orochimaru allowed. "But it's quite rude of you to bring those other two into it. I think I'm going to even the odds. This is something special I prepared just for this occasion..."

He clapped his hands together - and a plain wooden coffin emerged from the sand.

His three opponents tensed. "Is that…?" Jiraiya muttered uncertainly, as the lid fell forward.

"Edo Tensei," Orochimaru confirmed. Amused, he watched their expressions shift as a the body inside the coffin slowly took a step out into the moonlight. "Resurrection - bringing back the dead in an immortal, unkillable form. It's quite something, isn't it?"

The jutsu had been developed by the Second Hokage. It would have been poetic to bring him back with his own creation, but Orochimaru had not yet acquired his genetic material. However, there was one legend whose DNA he'd had previously made use of and which he had been quite happy to use again.

"The First Hokage…" Kakashi stammered, staring in shock at the man who emerged from the coffin. Or rather, the pale, undead imitation of the man the First Hokage had been.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Kill him," he ordered, pointing to the Kazekage.

With the control tag already inserted, the reanimated corpse did not hesitate. His hands came together in a seal, and branches and roots suddenly burst out from the sand around them.

Several things happened at once - the Kazekage jumped away, his Gold Dust slashing several branches apart; the resurrected Hokage pressed his attack, following the Kazekage's retreat; Orochimaru retreated as well, his expression daring Jiraiya to follow.

"Kakashi! Help the Kazekage!" Jiraiya ordered. "You know the most about Mokuton, and that thing's nowhere near the First's true power! I'll handle Orochimaru!"

It was fitting, in a way, for the two of them to face each other alone.

The two Sannin broke off, quickly moving away to fight their own running battle - and leaving Kakashi and the Kazekage to contend with the resurrected First Hokage. Jiraiya was right in claiming the reanimated corpse had only a shadow of the legendary shinobi's true strength, but even that was easily head and shoulders above most ninjas.

Of course, neither Kakashi nor the Kazekage were most ninjas.

The Mokuton's advance stopped suddenly as the First Hokage found his lower body trapped by Gold Dust. A sound like chirping birds rent the air - Kakashi dashed between the branches and roots, lightning natured chakra gathered in his palm again.

The Gold Dust should have prevented the First Hokage from moving, and even the Mokuton shoots couldn't stop Kakashi's charge. But at the last one moment, one branch lashed out and knocked the First Hokage aside, throwing him clear of the Gold Dust. Kakashi's Raikiri hit only wood.

That reckless maneuver was not without its consequences. When he stumbled to his feet nearby, having crashed into a thick root, the damage to the First Hokage's body was obvious.

However, the dents in his armor and the scratches across his skin quickly began to repair, disappearing before his opponents' eyes.

"Unkillable, right," Kakashi muttered.

"I thought it was just a rumor, but it seems what I heard about that jutsu is true," the Kazekage said, as they regrouped. "The summoned deceased cannot be killed. Their chakra and restorative abilities are infinite. We'll have to bind and seal it so it can't escape."

"Sealing? I can probably put something together," Kakashi said. 'Though it's far from my specialty...'

"Then I'll bind it down," the Kazekage said. Unexpectedly, he smiled. 'To think it would come in handy like this. It's fitting, I suppose,' he thought.

When he had returned to Hidden Sand from the Leaf, he had been surprised and bemused to hear about Gaara's mentoring - and his ongoing efforts to develop new techniques for using his sand. Like practically everyone else in the village, the Kazekage had gone to spy on Gaara and Matsuri's practice, though he thought that in the end they were being foolish and naive.

And now, to his surprise, he was going to use the things Gaara had been practicing. The world certainly had a unique sense of humor.

Following Orochimaru's orders, the First Hokage resumed his attack on the Kazekage, almost entirely ignoring Kakashi. He closed in quickly, foregoing ninjutsu to attack hand to hand. Gold Dust rose up to block his attacks, but every strike made the dust shield burst apart, partially disintegrating.

Kakashi paused before jumping in. His eyes narrowed as he tried to see through the clouds of sparkling dust. Alone, neither of them would be able to defeat the resurrected Hokage, but how could they work together? The Kazekage had been upfront, for the most part, about his abilities, but that didn't mean Kakashi knew how to work in combination with him.

'Wait,' the jonin thought. 'Something isn't right...'

There was less and less Gold Dust in the shield each time. But the First Hokage's attacks were not having any more effect than before. If anything… it looked like the zombie was slowing down. That shouldn't have been possible. Edo Tensei reanimations did not tire or run out of chakra.

'I see. So that's how it is,' Kakashi realized.

The First Hokage glanced down at his armor, noticing the same thing as Kakashi. Abandoning the close range battle, he drew back and brought his hands together again - new Mokuton growth appeared around him, including beneath his feet, raising him up above the sand.

Kakashi drew a deep breath. 'Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu,' he thought, before releasing a massive stream of flame.

Fire wasn't his natural element, and in fact it was the weakest of the four he could use. Fortunately, the jutsu was enough to ignite several of the branches, and a quick, wordless wind jutsu from the Kazekage drove the flames higher.

Caught in the middle of the fire as his Mokuton burned, the First Hokage, his clothes and the ends of his hair began to smolder and his armor began to flow faintly with the heat.

"Suiton: Suijinheki!" Kakashi called out next. This time, he blew out a stream of water, forming a wave that washed over the burning Mokuton grove. As it hit the fire, the water jutsu hissed and evaporated, covering everything in clouds of steam.

When the steam cleared, most of the Mokuton growth had collapsed from the fire damage, but the First Hokage was still standing. His injuries appeared to be all surface ones, and were already beginning to reconstruct.

However, when the reanimation tried to move, it found itself held in place. It couldn't do more than jerk slightly.

Thick veins of gold were spread over the First Hokage's body, fusing the plates of armor together and pinning him in place.

All through the fight, the Kazekage had subtly left small amounts of Gold Dust layered over the First Hokage's body. As the Gold Dust built up, it began to even weigh down and slow his movements. Then, the fire had melted the Gold Dust, and the water cooled and hardened it.

And because of the Kazekage's chakra running through the gold bindings, they were not easily broken, despite being made of such soft metal.

"Let's finish this," the Kazekage announced. He spread his arms, entire waves of Gold Dust rising as he beckoned and then crashing onto the First Hokage's paralyzed figure to form a shimmering pyramid-like structure.

Kakashi stepped forward, a kunai in hand to carve the base seals for containment into the golden surface.

They had won.

/~/~

It didn't take Jiraiya long to realize that Orochimaru again had no intention of fighting him seriously. Moving quickly across the dunes, the two of them traded jutsus and volleys of shuriken, but all of it was just stalling, with little intent behind it.

"Afraid to face me for real? I don't blame you," Jiraiya taunted, hiding his agitation behind a mocking smirk. "I wouldn't want to take on the gallant Jiraiya either!"

Orochimaru chuckled, easily maintaining the same facade of false amiability. "I could - we both know who won every one of our matches. But why bother? Despite what you might think, you're only a minor nuisance in the grand scheme of things, Jiraiya. I expected that I might run into you here, but I didn't come for you."

Truthfully, Orochimaru was not entirely sure who would win, between the two of them. They had always been too closely matched. While he suspected that he would emerge victorious in the end, that would be poor consolation if he exhausted himself and was caught in another trap or if Jiraiya managed to deal him a crippling injury.

Against an ordinary opponent, Orochimaru might have chanced it and then changed bodies afterwards, if it came to that, but given Jiraiya's knowledge of seals and of Orochimaru, the risk was too great.

And as Orochimaru said, the payoff was low. He knew how Jiraiya thought and how he operated. While avoiding his spies was tedious, it was at least predictable. If he removed Jiraiya, there was no telling who might replace him and how. Better the enemy you know, after all.

Orochimaru's dig made Jiraiya scowl.

"But," Orochimaru said, smirking, "if you want to get a bit more serious, I will oblige."

Biting one thumb, he pulled up the opposite sleeve to reveal his summoning tattoo and smeared a streak of blood over it. Realizing his intent, Jiraiya began quickly flipping through the hand seals for his own summoning.

A cloud of smoke engulfed them both. A massive two headed serpent rose out of it. The snake summon towered over Jiraiya, but when one head lunged for him, its attack was blocked by an equally massive two-pronged fork. In another burst of smoke, a large red toad joined the snake, Jiraiya riding on its head.

"Thanks for the save, Gamaken!" Jiraiya called out.

"I'm clumsy, but I'll do my best," the toad rumbled in a deep voice.

The two headed snake flailed under Gamaken's fork, sending tall waves of sand flying. It hissed angrily and tried to wind its tail around the toad's neck, but Jiraiya's attention was not on that battle. Instead, he searched frantically for Orochimaru.

There was no sign of him at all. Not atop his summon, not among the clouds of sand being kicked up, not out on the smooth dunes beyond.

Jiraiya cursed. All of it had been just a distraction from the start.

Orochimaru had escaped once more.

/~/~

"I can't believe he got away! And after we worked so hard on this mission," Naruto hissed, scowling and making clawing motions with his hands.

Once the three teams - two from Leaf, one from Sand - returned to the village, they were quickly separated and herded away. Lee, Neji and Tenten were sent to actually get the proper cure for their mild poisoning, which had started coming back toward the end of their trip. Meanwhile, the other six were quickly debriefed, and informed of the mission's ultimate failure.

"Just let it go," Kankuro sighed. "At least we're all alive. And he's down, what, five minions. That's something."

Sasuke's own scowl made it clear he was with Naruto on this, but while he was… annoyed to realize just how large a gap remained between him and an actual S-ranked criminal, he was also somewhat pleased. All things considered, he had done pretty well, and he had awakened the next level of his Sharingan.

"Not to mention, we're going to have a chance to make chunin despite this entire fiasco. That's definitely a nice bonus," Kankuro added. "The high level mission on our records doesn't hurt either."

Hinata smiled and nodded in agreement, while Sasuke smirked faintly. Only Sai showed no reaction.

"Chunin…" Gaara muttered. He seemed somewhat baffled by the notion. Then again, rank was mostly a formality where he was concerned. He rubbed his stomach absently. Baki, who had been at the quick debriefing, had promised to get a seal expert to help him, but there hadn't been any time to deal with it so far.

"Making chunin would be pretty cool," Naruto admitted.

"Not that you'll make it," Kankuro said, waving one hand dismissively. "But it'll be a good experience for you."

"What, like the exam six months ago was for you?" Naruto asked, rolling his eyes. "Oh wait, that wasn't your first time, was it? Sounds like that experience didn't do much to help. I guess if you're a loser who plays with dolls all day…"

"They're puppets!" Kankuro hissed. The two of them glared at each other, looking a moment away from a brawl.

Fortunately, the stalemate was broken as the other Leaf team appeared, making their way toward the six genin - who had been crouching together in a tight circle rather suspiciously. "Hey, guys!" Tenten called out. "Everything go okay? It's a relief to get that out of your system, right?"

"Uh, yeah, totally," Naruto agreed, laughing awkwardly. He hadn't actually felt anything to start with.

"U-um… Thank you," Hinata stammered quietly, ducking her head as she spoke. "We c-couldn't have made it without your help."

Sasuke and Kankuro snorted simultaneously. 'Yes, we could have,' they thought.

"It's no big deal," Tenten assured her. Next to her, Neji glanced at Hinata, but this time his expression remained neutral as he shrugged one shoulder and looked away. Tenten added, "Seems like teaming up was a good idea. I heard we're the only teams that made it! They're still picking up everyone who passed out in the desert, but it doesn't look like anyone else is going to finish."

"Yes, our teamwork and cooperation was quite Youthful!" Lee agreed energetically. "But in the next round, we will be opponents! Let's all give it our best!"

"Way to kill the mood," Tenten muttered, facepalming.

"Sounds good," Sasuke agreed, surprisingly. He and Naruto exchange a glance.

"Ah," Sai said, for the first time since delivering his cold, factual report. "I won't be participating. As soon as the official announcement is made, I will officially drop out."

"What? Why?" Naruto wondered.

"You mustn't give up so easily! Don't worry! If you work hard, you can match even us!" Lee assured Sai, completely missing the point.

"I'm… not going to give up," Hinata said, her voice too quiet to be called a declaration. Even if she felt she hadn't entirely deserved to advance to the next round, even if she had done the least and was the weakest of the nine genin, she wouldn't give up without a fight.

Neji was the only one who heard, and he only crossed his arms and stared resolutely ahead. "If we face each other, I won't concede," he made his own pronouncement - even if that was what a good Branch Family member should do.

Hinata smiled faintly and nodded.

"Chunin?" Gaara repeated to himself, apparently still turning that idea over in his mind.

Rolling his eyes at the lot of them, Kankuro stopped suddenly, and then groaned. "This means… a whole month of training," he realized. "W-with that demon hag!"

'M-maybe I should just drop out too...'

/~/~

"Then, Danzo, I leave the village in your hands during my absence," Sarutobi said to his old friend.

It felt strange standing on the other side of the Hokage's desk, though this was not the first time he had done so. His eyes narrowed as he remembered the last time he had left the village - twelve years before, when he had gone to meet the daimyo after resuming his position as Hokage.

Surprisingly, Danzo did not look entirely pleased to be sitting in the chair that Sarutobi had occupied for so long. "You would be wise to reconsider, Hiruzen," Danzo said, his expression ill-tempered. "A Kage is always most vulnerable when traveling. The chances of an assassination attempt are too high, especially with the recent… difficulties. If you are killed in the Land of Wind or even in the Land of Rivers, war will be unavoidable."

Sarutobi's eyebrows rose in surprise, though his incredulous expression was thankfully concealed by the brim of his hat. 'I suppose you'd know all about assassination attempts on the Hokage, wouldn't you?' he barely stopped himself from commenting. 'And since when do you see war as something avoidable?'

Remaining silent, Sarutobi studied Danzo for a moment. He couldn't quite grasp what the old warhawk's aim was - Did he genuinely want to avoid the potential danger to the Hokage? Did he think that the war that might break out would put Hidden Leaf at too much of a disadvantage?

Or was it the opposite? Was he unhappy with what he saw as too much reliance on their ally? Attending these Chunin Exams in Sand, especially since Sarutobi had not attended any others, would be an important show of support for the other hidden village. And Danzo had always disagreed with the very idea of an alliance.

Sarutobi smiled mildly. "I'll be careful," he promised, almost patronizingly reassuring. "But given the hard work our two teams put in, I can't pass up the opportunity to see them in action and show my support. It seems our new generation is quite something. I'm sure it'll be a spectacular show."

Predictably, Danzo only frowned deeper. "Speaking of the next generation," he changed the subject, apparently capitulating, "have you considered the matter of your successor?"

He had, but Sarutobi didn't share his thoughts. Instead, he only said, "Oh, don't worry. I still have a few years left in me."

Once, Orochimaru had been seen as a strong candidate for Hokage, for the position of the Fourth, before losing to Minato, and then for the Fifth, before his depraved experiments came to light. In a way, it was fitting that Orochimaru would be the one to turn Sarutobi's attention to the person he was more and more considering for his second successor.

But that was all in the future. For now, the Hokage intended to focus on their youngest shinobi and their simple, earnest battles for nothing more than recognition and the chance of higher rank. He would enjoy these peaceful days for as long as they lasted.

/~/~

The end - to be continued?

/~/~

**Q&A:**

**Wait, it seriously ends like that?** Yes. My inspiration just kind of faded by the end. The Chunin Exams are a major thing, and I had to get through them, but to be honest, I was never particularly excited about this arc. Thank god it's over.

**What happened to Orochimaru?** He got away. This guy is the epitome of "live to see another day." He's not some crazy, delusional idealist-revolutionary. He's not going to stand and die for anything. He's petty enough to throw away his pawns for the chance at a bit of revenge though. Not that it worked out.

**What happened to the Sound Four/Five?** Some of them died. Some were captured. But Orochimaru had failsafes (methods of killing them from far) in all of them, just in case they got captured. So they all died in the end.

**What happened to the First Hokage's reanimation?** Orochimaru deactivated the jutsu after he made his getaway. He had assumed the Kazekage (and Kakashi) would be dead by then.

**What happened to the third round?** There were only eight people left, so they fought in a pretty normal tournament. Sasuke won, but Kankuro was the only who got promoted. (Details in the next sequel, probably...)

**What was Sarutobi going on about?** He's got someone he's considering for Fifth Hokage, since he does plan to step down within a few years.

**Will there be a third season?** Maybe. I do have some plans for it. True to form, we would get the introduction of Akatsuki. Also, Tsunade. But it might be another five years before I get around to writing it, who knows.

Anyway, thank you all for sticking with me this far!

/~/~


End file.
